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arXiv:1109.0153

Geometric Momentum for a Particle on a Curved Surface

Q. H. Liu

Published Sep 1, 2011• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

When a two-dimensional curved surface is conceived as a limiting case of a curved shell of equal thickness d, where the limit d\rightarrow0 is then taken, the well-known geometric potential is induced by the kinetic energy operator, in fact by the second order partial derivatives. Applying this confining procedure to the momentum operator, in fact to the first order partial derivatives, we find the so-called geometric momentum instead. This momentum is compatible with the Dirac's canonical quantization theory on system with second-class constraints. The distribution amplitudes of the geometric momentum on the spherical harmonics are analytically determined, and they are experimentally testable for rotational states of spherical molecules such as C_{60}.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.1109.0153

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When a two-dimensional curved surface is conceived as a limiting case of a curved shell of equal thickness d, where the limit d\rightarrow0 is then taken, the well-known geometric potential is induced by the kinetic energy operator, in fact by the second order partial derivatives. Applying this confining procedure to the momentum operator, in fact to the first order partial derivatives, we find the so-called geometric momentum instead. This momentum is compatible with the Dirac's canonical quantization theory on system with second-class constraints. The distribution amplitudes of the geometric momentum on the spherical harmonics are analytically determined, and they are experimentally testable for rotational states of spherical molecules such as C_{60}.
As a manifold is embedded into a higher dimensional Euclidean space, quantum mechanics gives various embedding quantities. In the present study, two embedding quantities for a two-dimensional curved surface in the three-dimensional flat space, the geometric momentum and the geometric potential, are derived in a unified manner. For a particle moving on a two-dimensional sphere or a free rotation of a spherical top, the projections of both the geometric momentum p\mathbf{p}p and the angular momentum L\mathbf{L}L onto a certain Cartesian axis form a complete set of commuting observables as [pi,Li]=0[p_{i},L_{i}]=0[pi​,Li​]=0 (i=1,2,3i=1,2,3i=1,2,3), thus constituting a dynamical (pi,Li)(p_{i},L_{i})(pi​,Li​) representation for the states on the two-dimensional spherical surface. The geometric momentum distribution of the states represented by spherical harmonics is successfully obtained, and this distribution for a homonuclear diatomic molecule seems within the resolution power of present momentum spectrometers and can be measured to probe the embedding effect.
In Dirac's canonical quantization theory on systems with second-class constraints, the commutators between the position, momentum, and Hamiltonian form a set of algebraic relations that are fundamental in construction of both the quantum momentum and the Hamiltonian. For a free particle on a two-dimensional sphere or a spherical top, results show that the well-known canonical momentum ${p}_{\ensuremath{\theta}}$ breaks one of the relations, while three components of the momentum expressed in the three-dimensional Cartesian system of axes as pi{p}_{i}pi​ (i=1,2,3)(i=1,2,3)(i=1,2,3) are satisfactory all around. This momentum is not only geometrically invariant but also self-adjoint, and we call it geometric momentum. The nontrivial commutators between pi{p}_{i}pi​ generate three components of the orbital angular momentum; thus the geometric momentum is fundamental to the angular one. We note that there are five different forms of the geometric momentum proposed in the current literature, but only one of them turns out to be meaningful.
Abstract Geometric momentum is the appropriate momentum for a particle constrained to move on a curved surface, which depends on the extrinsic curvature and leads to observable effects, and curvature-induced quantum potentials appear for a nonrelativistic free particle on the surface. In the context of multi-component quantum states, the geometric momentum should be rewritten as a generally covariant geometric momentum, which contains an additional term defined as the gauge potential. For a Dirac fermion constrained on a two-dimensional hypersurface, we derive the generally covariant geometric momentum, and demonstrate that no curvature-induced geometric potentials arise on a pseudosphere or a helical surface. The dynamical quantization conditions are verified to be effective in dealing with constrained systems on hypersurfaces, enabling the derivation of both the generally convariant geometric momentum and the geometric potential for a spin particle constrained on parametrically defined surfaces.
For describing particles moving on the two dimensional curved surfaces, we can use either the intrinsic local coordinates or the Cartesian coordinates. The representation of the momentum operators differs from each other in these two kinds of coordinates, the former ones depend on the intrinsic geometrical quantities, but the latter case depend on a geometrical invariant, namely the mean curvature. Taking the operator-ordering problem into consideration, the kinetic operator for the former case can be expressed in a possibly unique way, while that for latter case can be expressed in two different ways.
Abstract A fundamental problem regarding the Dirac quantization of a free particle on an ( ) curved hypersurface embedded in N flat space is the impossibility to give the same form of the curvature‐induced quantum potential, the geometric potential as commonly called, as that given by the Schrödinger equation method where the particle moves in a region confined by a thin‐layer sandwiching the surface. This problem is resolved by means of a previously proposed scheme that hypothesizes a simultaneous quantization of positions, momenta, and Hamiltonian, among which the operator‐ordering‐free section is identified and is then found sufficient to lead to the expected form of geometric potential.
As a submanifold is embedded into higher dimensional flat space, quantum mechanics gives various embedding quantities, e.g., the geometric momentum and geometric potential, etc. For a particle moving on a two-dimensional sphere or a free rotation of a spherical top, the projections of the geometric momentum p and the angular momentum L onto a certain Cartesian axis form a complete set of commuting observables as [p_{i},L_{i}]=0 (i=1,2,3). We have therefore a (p_{i},L_{i}) representation for the states on the two-dimensional spherical surface. The geometric momentum distribution of the ground states for a freely rotating rigid rotor seems within the resolution power of present momentum spectrometer and can be measured to probe the embedding effect.