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arXiv:1907.03582 · The European Physical Journal Plus

Fourier transform, quantum mechanics and quantum field theory on the manifold of general relativity

Lawrence Paul Horwitz

Published Jun 1, 2020• 11 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Abstract A proof is given for the Fourier transform for functions in a quantum mechanical Hilbert space on a non-compact manifold in general relativity. In the (configuration space) Newton–Wigner representation, we discuss the spectral decomposition of the canonical operators and give a proof of the Parseval–Plancherel relation and the Born rule for linear superposition. We then discuss the representations of pure quantum states and their dual vectors and construct the Fock space and the associated quantum field theory for Bose–Einstein and Fermi–Dirac statistics.

DOI
10.1140/epjp/s13360-020-00446-0

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Abstract A proof is given for the Fourier transform for functions in a quantum mechanical Hilbert space on a non-compact manifold in general relativity. In the (configuration space) Newton–Wigner representation, we discuss the spectral decomposition of the canonical operators and give a proof of the Parseval–Plancherel relation and the Born rule for linear superposition. We then discuss the representations of pure quantum states and their dual vectors and construct the Fock space and the associated quantum field theory for Bose–Einstein and Fermi–Dirac statistics.
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.
Starting from square-integrable wave functions on a Lie group, we build an invertible Fourier transform mapping them on wave functions on the dual of the Lie algebra. This is a group-theoretic version of the map from position space to momentum space, with generally noncommuting momenta owing to the group structure. As a result, the multiplication of momentum-dependent functions involves star products, which makes the construction of noncommutative Fourier series much more involved than that of their commutative cousin. This is especially true when compact subgroups are present, in which case we carefully take into account quotients of the operator algebra, and the resulting normalization issues. We show that our formalism provides an isometry of Hilbert spaces, and use it to derive a noncommutative Poisson summation formula for any compact Lie group. This is a key preliminary for the computation of Wigner functions and path integrals for quantum systems on group manifolds.
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.
Abstract The purpose of this article is to construct an explicit relation between the field operators in Quantum Field Theory and the relevant operators in Quantum Mechanics for a system of N identical particles, which are the symmetrised functions of the canonical operators of position and momentum, thus providing a clear relation between Quantum Field Theory and Quantum Mechanics. This is achieved in the context of the non-interacting Klein–Gordon field. Though this procedure may not be extendible 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. From a complex Klein–Gordon field, position and momentum operators can be constructed for both particles and antiparticles.
We extend the Wigner-Weyl-Moyal phase-space formulation of quantum mechanics to general curved configuration spaces. The underlying phase space is based on the chosen coordinates of the manifold and their canonically conjugate momenta. The resulting Wigner function displays the axioms of a quasiprobability distribution, and any Weyl-ordered operator gets associated with the corresponding phase-space function, even in the absence of continuous symmetries. The corresponding quantum Liouville equation reduces to the classical curved space Liouville equation in the semiclassical limit. We demonstrate the formalism for a point particle moving on two-dimensional manifolds, such as a paraboloid or the surface of a sphere. The latter clarifies the treatment of compact coordinate spaces, as well as the relation of the presented phase-space representation to symmetry groups of the configuration space.
Representations of quantum state vectors by complex phase space amplitudes, complementing the description of the density operator by the Wigner function, have been defined by applying the Weyl–Wigner transform to dyadic operators, linear in the state vector and anti-linear in a fixed 'window state vector'. Here aspects of this construction are explored, and a connection is established with Gabor's 'windowed Fourier transform'. The amplitudes that arise for simple quantum states from various choices of windows are presented as illustrations. Generalized Bargmann representations of the state vector appear as special cases, associated with Gaussian windows. For every choice of window, amplitudes lie in a corresponding linear subspace of square-integrable functions on phase space. A generalized Born interpretation of amplitudes is described, with both the Wigner function and a generalized Husimi function appearing as quantities linear in an amplitude and anti-linear in its complex conjugate. Schrödinger's time-dependent and time-independent equations are represented on phase space amplitudes, and their solutions described in simple cases.