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arXiv:0812.2803 · Journal of Physics A Mathematical and Theoretical

Formulation, interpretation and application of non-commutative quantum mechanics

Frederik G. Scholtz, Laure Gouba, A Hafver, Christian M. Rohwer

Published Apr 7, 2009• 132 citations
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Abstract

In analogy with conventional quantum mechanics, non-commutative quantum mechanics is formulated as a quantum system on the Hilbert space of Hilbert-Schmidt operators acting on non-commutative configuration space. It is argued that the standard quantum mechanical interpretation based on Positive Operator Valued Measures, provides a sufficient framework for the consistent interpretation of this quantum system. The implications of this formalism for rotational and time reversal symmetry are discussed. The formalism is applied to the free particle and harmonic oscillator in two dimensions and the physical signatures of non commutativity are identified.

DOI
10.1088/1751-8113/42/17/175303

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In analogy with conventional quantum mechanics, non-commutative quantum mechanics is formulated as a quantum system on the Hilbert space of Hilbert-Schmidt operators acting on non-commutative configuration space. It is argued that the standard quantum mechanical interpretation based on Positive Operator Valued Measures, provides a sufficient framework for the consistent interpretation of this quantum system. The implications of this formalism for rotational and time reversal symmetry are discussed. The formalism is applied to the free particle and harmonic oscillator in two dimensions and the physical signatures of non commutativity are identified.
We construct an effective commutative Schrödinger equation in Moyal space-time in (1+1)(1+1)(1+1)-dimension where both ttt and xxx are operator-valued and satisfy [t^,x^]=iθ\left[ \hat{t}, \hat{x} \right] = i θ[t^,x^]=iθ. Beginning with a time-reparametrised form of an action we identify the actions of various space-time coordinates and their conjugate momenta on quantum states, represented by Hilbert-Schmidt operators. Since time is also regarded as a configuration space variable, we show how an `induced' inner product can be extracted, so that an appropriate quantum mechanical interpretation is obtained. We then discuss several other applications of the formalism developed so far.
In this paper we construct a path integral formulation of quantum mechanics on noncommutative phase-space. We first map the system to an equivalent system on the noncommutative plane. Then by applying the formalism of representing a quantum system in the space of Hilbert-Schmidt operators acting on noncommutative configuration space, the path integral action of a particle is derived. It is observed that the action has a similar form to that of a particle in a magnetic field in the noncommutative plane. From this action the energy spectrum is obtained for the free particle and the harmonic-oscillator potential. We also show that the nonlocal nature (in time) of the action yields a second-class constrained system from which the noncommutative Heisenberg algebra can be recovered.
The Moyal and Voros formulations of non-commutative quantum field theory has been a point of controversy in the recent past. Here we address this issue in the context of non-commutative non-relativistic quantum mechanics. In particular we show that the two formulations simply correspond to two different representations associated with two different choices of basis on the quantum Hilbert space. From a mathematical perspective the two formulations are therefore completely equivalent, but we also argue that only the Voros formulaton admits a consistent physical interpretation. These considerations are elucidated by considering the free particle transition amplitude in the two representations.
We construct the algebra of operators acting on the Hilbert spaces of Quantum Mechanics for systems of N identical particles from the field operators acting in the Fock space of Quantum Field Theory by providing the explicit relation between the position and momentum operators acting in the former spaces and the field operators acting on the latter.This is done in the context of the non-interacting Klein-Gordon field.It may not be possible to extend the procedure to interacting field theories since it relies crucially on particle number conservation.We find it nevertheless important that such an explicit relation can be found at least for free fields.It also comes out that whatever statistics the field operators obey (either commuting or anticommuting), the position and momentum operators obey commutation relations.The construction of position operators raises the issue of localizability of particles in Relativistic Quantum Mechanics, as the position operator for a single particle turns out to be the Newton-Wigner position operator.We make some clarifications on the interpretation of Newton-Wigner localized states and we consider the transformation properties of position operators under Lorentz transformations, showing that they do not transform as tensors, rather in a manner that preserves the canonical commutation relations.
We construct the algebra of operators acting on the Hilbert spaces of Quantum Mechanics for systems of N identical particles from the field operators acting in the Fock space of Quantum Field Theory by providing the explicit relation between the position and momentum operators acting in the former spaces and the field operators acting on the latter.This is done in the context of the non-interacting Klein-Gordon field.It may not be possible to extend the procedure to interacting field theories since it relies crucially on particle number conservation.We find it nevertheless important that such an explicit relation can be found at least for free fields.It also comes out that whatever statistics the field operators obey (either commuting or anticommuting), the position and momentum operators obey commutation relations.The construction of position operators raises the issue of localizability of particles in Relativistic Quantum Mechanics, as the position operator for a single particle turns out to be the Newton-Wigner position operator.We make some clarifications on the interpretation of Newton-Wigner localized states and we consider the transformation properties of position operators under Lorentz transformations, showing that they do not transform as tensors, rather in a manner that preserves the canonical commutation relations.
The thesis is about the peculiar probabilistic structure of quantum mechanics. Typically, a random phenomenon is described using the measure-theoretic formulation of probability theory. Such a description can also be done using algebraic methods, which are capable to deal with non-commutative random variables. A central feature of quantum mechanics is the non-commutativity of operators used to describe physical observables. A method to construct a non-commutative probability theory starting from an ordinary measure-theoretic description of probability is proposed and applied to a series of model to reobtain the quantum behaviour od a particle. In particular, using ordinary probability theory, the kinematics of a point-like particle jumping at random over a discrete random space is studied. After the removal of the random space from the model, the position and velocity of the particle do not commute, when represented as operators on the same Hilbert space. Using a suitable random process for the space one is able to recover non-relativistic quantum mechanics in a suitable limit.