The Dirac equation is a relativistic wave equation in quantum mechanics that unifies special relativity and quantum theory to describe spin-1/2 massive particles (fermions), using a four-component spinor wave function rather than a scalar wave function, gamma matrices satisfying a Clifford algebra with an anti-commutation relation, and a Lorentz-covariant differential operator acting on spacetime coordinates. Its formal structure inherently incorporates intrinsic spin and predicts the existence of antiparticles as negative-energy spinor solutions, distinguishing it from earlier non-relativistic (Schrödinger) and relativistic but spinless (Klein-Gordon) wave equations, and it forms a foundational building block of quantum electrodynamics and the Standard Model of particle physics.
The Dirac equation is a relativistic wave equation that unifies special relativity and quantum mechanics to describe spin-1/2 particles (fermions), extending the non-relativistic Schrödinger equation…