Revisiting Clifford algebras and spinors II: Weyl spinors in Cl(3,0) and Cl(0,3) and the Dirac equation

Abstract

This paper is the second one of a series of three and it is the continuation of math-ph/0412074. We review some properties of the algebraic spinors in Cl(3,0) and Cl(0,3) and how Weyl, Pauli and Dirac spinors are constructed in Cl(3,0) (and Cl(0,3) in the case of Weyl spinors. A plane wave solution for the Dirac equation is obtained, and the Dirac equation is written in terms of Weyl spinors, and alternatively, in terms of Pauli spinors. Finally the covariant and contravariant undotted spinors in Cl(0,3), isomorphic to two copies of the quaternion algebra (H), are constructed. We prove that there exists an application that maps the even subalgebra Cl+(0,3) of Cl(0,3), viewed as a right H-module, onto Cl+(0,3), but now viewed as a left H-module.