A symmetry witness is a subset of the space of selfadjoint trace class operators that allows one to ascertain whether a linear map acting in that space is a symmetry transformation. This notion arises from a certain type of linear preserver problems. Precisely, a symmetry witness is a suitable set which is invariant with respect to an injective linear map in the Banach space of selfadjoint trace class operators where the quantum states live if and only if this map acts as a symmetry transformation. In particular, by a linear version of Wigner's classical theorem, the set of pure states — the rank-one projections — is a symmetry witness. Linearity entails that the usual assumption of preservation of the transition probability between pure states becomes superfluous. This result extends to every set of projections of a fixed (finite) rank, with some suitable constraint on this rank. One then obtains a classification of the sets of projections of a fixed rank that are symmetry witnesses. These symmetry witnesses are projectable. Namely, formulating the mentioned result in terms of quantum states, the sets of 'uniform' density operators of a suitable fixed rank are symmetry witnesses as well.
Symmetry in quantum mechanicsRoughly speaking, a symmetry of some mathematical object is an invertible transformation that leaves all relevant structure as it is.Thus a symmetry of a set is just a bijection (as sets have no further structure, whence invertibility is the only demand on a symmetry), a symmetry of a topological space is a homeomorphism, a symmetry of a Banach space is a linear isometric isomorphism, and, crucially important for this chapter, a symmetry of a Hilbert space H is a unitary operator, i.e., a linear map u : H → H satisfying one and hence all of the following equivalent conditions:• u is invertible and preserves the inner product, i.e., uϕ, uψ = ϕ, ψ (ϕ, ψ ∈ H).The discussion of symmetries in quantum physics is based on the above idea, but the mathematically obvious choices need not be the physically relevant ones.Even in elementary quantum mechanics, where A = B(H), i.e., the C*-algebra of all bounded operators on some Hilbert space H, the concept of a symmetry is already diverse.The main structures whose symmetries we shall study in this chapter are:1.The normal pure state space P 1 (H), i.e., the set of one-dimensional projections on H, with transition probability τ : P 1 (H) × P 1 (H) → [0, 1] defined by (2.44).2. The normal state space D(H), i.e. the convex set of density operators ρ on H. The self-adjoint operators B(H)sa on H, seen as a Jordan algebra (see below).4. The effects E (H) = [0, 1] B(H) , seen as a convex partially ordered set (poset). 5.The projections P(H) on H, seen as an orthocomplemented lattice.6.The unital commutative C*-subalgebras C (B(H)) of B(H), seen as a poset.Each of these structures comes with its own notion of a symmetry, but the main point of this chapter will be to show these notions are equivalent, corresponding in all cases to either unitary or-surprisingly-anti-unitary operators, both merely defined up to a phase.The latter subtlety will open the world of projective unitary group representation to quantum mechanics (without which the existence of spin-1 2 particles such as electrons, and therewith also of ourselves, would be impossible).
Abstract There are six different mathematical formulations of the symmetry group in quantum mechanics, among them the set of pure states
P P —i.e., the set of one-dimensional projections on a complex Hilbert spaceH– and the orthomodular lattice
L L of closed subspaces ofH. These six groups are isomorphic when the dimension ofHis
≥3 ≥3 . The latter hypothesis is absolutely necessary in this identification. For example, the automorphisms group of all bijections preserving orthogonality and the order on
L L identifies with the bijections on
P P preserving transition probabilities only if dim
(H)≥3 (H)≥3 . Despite of the difficulties caused by
M2(C) M2(C) , rank two algebras are used for quantum mechanics description of the spin state of spin-
21 12 particles. However, there is a counterexample for Uhlhorn’s version of Wigner’s theorem for such state space. In this note we prove that in order that the description of the spin will be relativistic, it is not enough to preserve the projection lattice equipped with its natural partial order and orthogonality, but we also need to preserve the partial order set of all tripotents and orthogonality among them (a set which strictly enlarges the lattice of projections). Concretely, letMandNbe two atomic JBW
∗ ∗ -triples not containing rank–one Cartan factors, and let
U(M) U(M) and
U(N) U(N) denote the set of all tripotents inMandN, respectively. We show that each bijection
Φ:U(M)→U(N) Φ:U(M)→U(N) , preserving the partial ordering in both directions, orthogonality in one direction and satisfying some mild continuity hypothesis can be extended to a real linear triple automorphism. This, in particular, extends a result of Molnár to the wider setting of atomic JBW
∗ ∗ -triples not containing rank–one Cartan factors, and provides new models to present quantum behavior.
Let H be a complex Hilbert space and let P ( H ) be the associated projective space (the set of rank-one projections). Suppose dim H ⩾ 3 . We prove the following Wigner-type theorem: if H is finite dimensional, then every orthogonality preserving transformation of P ( H ) is induced by a unitary or anti-unitary operator. This statement will be obtained as a consequence of the following result: every orthogonality preserving lineation of P ( H ) to itself is induced by a linear or conjugate-linear isometry ( H is not assumed to be finite-dimensional). As an application, we describe (not necessarily injective) transformations of Grassmannians preserving some types of principal angles.
Wigner’s theorem characterizes isometries of the set of all rank one projections on a Hilbert space. In metric geometry, nonexpansive maps and noncontractive maps are well-studied generalizations of isometries. We show that under certain conditions Wigner symmetries can be characterized as nonexpansive or noncontractive maps on the set of all projections of rank one. The assumptions required for such characterizations are injectivity or surjectivity and they differ in the finite and the infinite-dimensional case. Motivated by a recently obtained optimal version of Uhlhorn’s generalization of Wigner’s theorem, we also give a description of nonexpansive maps which satisfy a condition that is much weaker than surjectivity. Such maps do not need to be Wigner symmetries. The optimality of all presented results is shown by counterexamples.