Spin precession of a particle with an electric dipole moment: contributions from classical electrodynamics and from the Thomas effect

Abstract

The new derivation of the equation of the spin precession is given for a particle possessing electric and magnetic dipole moments. Contributions from classical electrodynamics and from the Thomas effect are explicitly separated. A fully covariant approach is used. The final equation is expressed in a very simple form in terms of the fields in the instantaneously accompanying frame. The Lorentz transformations of the electric and magnetic dipole moments and of the spin are derived from basic equations of classical electrodynamics. For this purpose, the Maxwell equations in matter are used and the result is confirmed by other methods. An antisymmetric four-tensor is correctly constructed from the electric and magnetic dipole moments.