Free Dirac evolution as a quantum random walk

Abstract

Any positive-energy state of a free Dirac particle that is initially highly-localized, evolves in time by spreading at speeds close to the speed of light. This general phenomenon is explained by the fact that the Dirac evolution can be approximated arbitrarily closely by a quantum random walk, where the roles of coin and walker systems are naturally attributed to the spin and position degrees of freedom of the particle. Initially entangled and spatially localized spin-position states evolve with asymptotic two-horned distributions of the position probability, familiar from earlier studies of quantum walks. For the Dirac particle, the two horns travel apart at close to the speed of light.