Hamiltonian form of the Kemmer equation

Abstract

The Hamiltonian form of the relativistic wave equation for bosons of spin 0 or 1 was first given by Kemmer. The problems associated with the redundant components of the wave function were later resolved by Heitler, who eliminated the redundant components by means of projection operators. We present an alternative treatment which yields essentially the same results as obtained by Heitler, but which retains all components of the wave function.