Classical elementary particles, spin, zitterbewegung and all that

Abstract

After a revision of the main features of the structure of the Dirac electron a plausible definition of elementary particle is stated. It is shown that this definition leads in the classical case to a picture which produces a very clear correspondence between the classical and quantum mechanical features of the electron. It is analyzed how the classical spin structure and zitterbewegung are related to the classical variables that define the kinematical state of the particle.