We study, classify, and explore the mathematical properties of finite-dimensional Lie algebras occurring in the quantum dynamics of single-mode and self-interacting bosonic systems. These Lie algebras are contained in the real skew-hermitian Weyl algebra
A^1, defined as the real subalgebra of the Weyl algebra
A1 consisting of all skew-hermitian polynomials. A central aspect of our analysis is the choice of basis for
A^1, which is composed of skew-symmetric combinations of two elements of the Weyl algebra called monomials, namely strings of creation and annihilation operators combined with their hermitian conjugate. Motivated by the quest for analytical solutions in quantum optimal control and dynamics, we aim at answering the following three fundamental questions: (i) What are the finite-dimensional Lie subalgebras in
A^1 generated by monomials alone? (ii)~What are the finite-dimensional Lie subalgebras in
A^1 that contain the free Hamiltonian? (iii) What are the non-abelian and finite-dimensional Lie subalgebras that can be faithfully realized in
A^1? We answer the first question by providing all possible realizations of all finite-dimensional non-abelian Lie algebras that are generated by monomials alone. We answer the second question by proving that any non-abelian and finite-dimensional subalgebra of
A^1 that contains a free Hamiltonian term must be a subalgebra of the Schrödinger algebra. We partially answer the third question by classifying all nilpotent and non-solvable Lie algebras that can be realized in
A^1, and comment on the remaining cases. Finally, we also discuss the implications of our results for quantum control theory. Our work constitutes an important stepping stone to understanding quantum dynamics of bosonic systems in full generality.
Classical simulability is ultimately determined by both the dynamics of a quantum system and the observables being evaluated. Lie-algebraic simulation exploits the latter to make exact polynomial-time classical simulations by propagating observables through low-dimensional invariant operator spaces. However, its conventional formulation in terms of polynomial-dimensional dynamical Lie algebras does not directly accommodate bosonic systems as their algebras are neither compact nor semisimple. In this contribution, we overcome this limitation, making bosonic systems accessible to the Lie-algebraic programme of exact polynomial-time classical simulation. We prove that expectation values, fixed-order correlation functions, including multi-time correlators and out-of-time-ordered correlators, and gradients are efficiently computable whenever their operator modules have polynomial dimension. This recovers Gaussian quantum optics and extends it to non-Gaussian input states, while identifying exact polynomial regimes of interacting non-Gaussian dynamics including bounded-photon Kerr and pair-hopping Hamiltonians and nilpotent polynomial phase dynamics. We show that unlike in the finite-dimensional spin and fermionic setting treated previously, a finite-dimensional bosonic generator algebra alone does not guarantee finite observable dynamics. We further derive a controlled perturbative hierarchy for squeezing beyond exact sector confinement and confirm the predicted error orders numerically. We also evaluate operator spreading on interacting chains of up to
400 modes and connect a topological doublon band with flux-reversed edge motion. These results provide a unified formalism for classifying, discovering, and systematically approximating tractable bosonic quantum dynamics with classical polynomial-time simulation.
The quantum mechanics of massive spinless particles in an external magnetic field polynomial in position variables is shown to be related to nilpotent Lie groups. By using the known representation structure of such groups, the Hilbert spaces of the quantum mechanical systems can be decomposed into irreducible representations of the nilpotent groups. Such a decomposition is given explicitly for constant and curved magnetic fields. Since the Hamiltonian for polynomial magnetic fields is quadratic in the Lie algebra elements, its spectrum can be found using the representation structure of nilpotent groups. The explicit time dependence of the system can also be found by solving the heat equation on nilpotent groups. These ideas are worked out for the constant magnetic field, where the solution is well known, and the curved magnetic field, where it is not. Generalizations to other systems whose interaction terms are polynomial are also given.