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arXiv:2604.21373

The Geometry Underlying the Quantum Harmonic Oscillator

Alexander D. Popov

math-phhep-thphysics.hist-phquant-phSubmitted Apr 23, 2026• Announced Apr 24, 2026• 0 citations
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Abstract

We consider two-dimensional harmonic oscillator in the complex Bargmann-Fock-Segal representation with $T^*{\mathbb R}^{2}={\mathbb C}^2$ as classical phase space. We show that the eigenfunctions $ψ_n$ of the quantum Hamiltonian correspond to complex radial coordinates in the reduced phase space ${\mathbb C}^2/{\mathbb Z}_n\subset{\mathbb C}^2$. They describe ${\mathbb Z}_n$-invariant motion of particle along a circle $S^1$ in lens space $S^3/{\mathbb Z}_n\subset{\mathbb C}^2/{\mathbb Z}_n$, where ${\mathbb Z}_n$ is the cyclic group of rotation by an angle $2π/n$ on the circle $S^1$, $n=1,2,...\,$. Thus the general solution of the Schrödinger equation carries information about an infinite number of admissible classical states $ψ_n$ that can be mapped to other states after lifting into the quantum bundle. We show that in the Kepler/hydrogen atom problem there is a similar correspondence between classical and quantum states.

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30 pages

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A new look at the quantum mechanics of the harmonic oscillator

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Abstract In classical mechanics the harmonic oscillator (HO) provides the generic example for the use of angle and action variables and I > 0 which played a prominent role in the “old” Bohr‐Sommerfeld quantum theory. However, already classically there is a problem which has essential implications for the quantum mechanics of the (φ,I)‐model for the HO: the transformation is only locally symplectic and singular for (q,p) = (0,0). Globally the phase space {(q,p)} has the topological structure of the plane ℝ2, whereas the phase space {(φ,I)} corresponds globally to the punctured plane ℝ2 ‐(0,0) or to a simple cone with the tip deleted. From the properties of the symplectic transformations on that phase space one can derive the functions h0 = I, h1 = Icos φ and h2 = ‐Isin φ as the basic coordinates on {(φ,I)}, where their Poisson brackets obey the Lie algebra of the symplectic group of the plane. This implies a qualitative difference as to the quantum theory of the phase space {(φ,I)} compared to the usual one for {(q,p)}: In the quantum mechanics for the (φ,I)‐model of the HO the three hj correspond to the self‐adjoint generators Kj, j = 0,1,2, of certain irreducible unitary representations of the symplectic group or one of its infinitely many covering groups, the representations being parametrized by a (Bargmann) index k > 0. This index k determines the ground state energy of the (φ,I)‐Hamiltonian . For an m‐fold covering the lowest possible value for k is k = 1/m, which can be made arbitrarily small by choosing m accordingly! This is not in contradiction to the usual approach in terms of the operators Q and P which are now expressed as functions of the Kj, but keep their usual properties. The richer structure of the Kj quantum model of the HO is “erased” when passing to the simpler (Q,P)‐model! This more refined approach to the quantum theory of the HO implies many experimental tests: Mulliken‐type experiments for isotopic diatomic molecules, experiments with harmonic traps for atoms, ions and BE‐condensates, with charged HOs in external electric fields and the (Landau) levels of charged particles in external magnetic fields, with the propagation of light in vacuum, passing through strong external electric or magnetic fields. Finally it may lead to a new theoretical estimate for the quantum vacuum energy of fields and its relation to the cosmological constant.

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We consider two-dimensional harmonic oscillator in the complex Bargmann-Fock-Segal representation with T∗R2=C2T^*{\mathbb R}^{2}={\mathbb C}^2T∗R2=C2 as classical phase space. We show that the eigenfunctions ψnψ_nψn​ of the quantum Hamiltonian correspond to complex radial coordinates in the reduced phase space C2/Zn⊂C2{\mathbb C}^2/{\mathbb Z}_n\subset{\mathbb C}^2C2/Zn​⊂C2. They describe Zn{\mathbb Z}_nZn​-invariant motion of particle along a circle S1S^1S1 in lens space S3/Zn⊂C2/ZnS^3/{\mathbb Z}_n\subset{\mathbb C}^2/{\mathbb Z}_nS3/Zn​⊂C2/Zn​, where Zn{\mathbb Z}_nZn​ is the cyclic group of rotation by an angle 2π/n2π/n2π/n on the circle S1S^1S1, n=1,2,... n=1,2,...\,n=1,2,.... Thus the general solution of the Schrödinger equation carries information about an infinite number of admissible classical states ψnψ_nψn​ that can be mapped to other states after lifting into the quantum bundle. We show that in the Kepler/hydrogen atom problem there is a similar correspondence between classical and quantum states.
We consider the nature of the wave function using the example of a harmonic oscillator. We show that the eigenfunctions ψn=znψ_n{=}z^nψn​=zn of the quantum Hamiltonian in the complex Bargmann-Fock-Segal representation with z∈Cz\in\mathbb Cz∈C are the coordinates of a classical oscillator with energy En=ℏωnE_n=\hbarωnEn​=ℏωn, n=0,1,2,... n=0,1,2,...\,n=0,1,2,.... They are defined on conical spaces C/Zn{\mathbb C}/{\mathbb Z}_nC/Zn​ with cone angles 2π/n2π/n2π/n, which are embedded as subspaces in the phase space C\mathbb CC of the classical oscillator. Here Zn{\mathbb Z}_nZn​ is the finite cyclic group of rotations of the space C\mathbb CC by an angle 2π/n2π/n2π/n. The superposition ψ=∑ncnψnψ=\sum_n c_nψ_nψ=∑n​cn​ψn​ of the eigenfunctions ψnψ_nψn​ arises only with incomplete knowledge of the initial data for solving the Schrödinger equation, when the conditions of invariance with respect to the discrete groups Zn{\mathbb Z}_nZn​ are not imposed and the general solution takes into account all possible initial data parametrized by the numbers n∈Nn\in\mathbb Nn∈N.
A correspondence is established between measure-preserving, ergodic dynamics of a classical harmonic oscillator and a quantum mechanical gauge theory on two-dimensional Minkowski space. This correspondence is realized through an isometric embedding of the L2(μ) space on the circle associated with the oscillator’s invariant measure, μ, into a Hilbert space H of sections of a C-line bundle over Minkowski space. This bundle is equipped with a covariant derivative induced from an SO+(1, 1) gauge field on the corresponding inertial frame bundle, satisfying the Yang–Mills equations. Under this embedding, the Hamiltonian operator of a Lorentz-invariant quantum system, constructed as a geometrical Laplace-type operator on bundle sections, pulls back to the generator of the unitary group of Koopman operators governing the evolution of classical observables of the harmonic oscillator, with Koopman eigenfunctions of zero, positive, and negative eigenfrequencies corresponding to quantum eigenstates of zero (“vacuum”), positive (“matter”), and negative (“antimatter”) energies. The embedding also induces a pair of operators acting on classical observables of the harmonic oscillator, exhibiting canonical position–momentum commutation relationships. These operators have the structure of order-1/2 fractional derivatives and therefore display a form of non-locality. In a second part of this work, we study a quantum mechanical representation of the classical harmonic oscillator using a one-parameter family of reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces, K^τ, associated with the time-τ transition kernel of a fractional diffusion on the circle. As shown in recent work, these spaces are unital Banach *-algebras of functions. It is found that the evolution of classical observables in these spaces takes place via a strongly continuous, unitary Koopman evolution group, which exhibits a stronger form of classical–quantum consistency than the L2(μ) case. Specifically, for every real-valued classical observable in K^τ, there exists a quantum mechanical observable, whose expectation value is consistent with classical function evaluation. This allows for a description of classical state space dynamics, classical statistics, and quantum statistics of the harmonic oscillator within a unified framework.
In this paper, we solve the rigorous solutions of the stationary Schrödinger equations for the harmonic oscillator within the framework of the quantum phase-space representation established by Torres-Vega and Frederick. We obtain the phase-space eigenfunctions of the three-dimensional isotropic harmonic oscillator in rectangular and spherical coordinate systems, and discuss the relationship between the eigenfunctions of the two coordinate systems. We also extend the "Fourier-like" projection transformations of the phase-space wave function to three-dimensional systems, and obtain the eigenfunctions in position and momentum representation through the transformations of the eigenfunction in the phase-space representation.
The problem of degeneracy in quantum mechanics is related to the existence of groups of contact transformations under which the Hamiltonian is invariant. The correspondence between transformations in classical and quantum theories is developed. The Fock-Bargmann treatment of the symmetry group of the hydrogenic atom comes under this theory. The symmetry group of the 2-dimensional Kepler problem is found to be the 3-dimensional rotation group; that of the nnn-dimensional isotropic oscillator is isomorphic to the unimodular unitary group in nnn dimensions. The 2-dimensional anisotropic oscillator has the same symmetry as the isotropic oscillator in classical mechanics, but the quantum-mechanical problem presents complications which leave its symmetry group in doubt.
In classical mechanics the harmonic oscillator (HO) provides the generic example for the use of angle and action variables and I > 0 which played a prominent role in the “old” Bohr-Sommerfeld quantum theory. However, already classically there is a problem which has essential implications for the quantum mechanics of the (φ,I)-model for the HO: the transformation is only locally symplectic and singular for (q,p) = (0,0). Globally the phase space {(q,p)} has the topological structure of the plane ℝ2, whereas the phase space {(φ,I)} corresponds globally to the punctured plane ℝ2 -(0,0) or to a simple cone with the tip deleted. From the properties of the symplectic transformations on that phase space one can derive the functions h0 = I, h1 = Icos φ and h2 = -Isin φ as the basic coordinates on {(φ,I)}, where their Poisson brackets obey the Lie algebra of the symplectic group of the plane. This implies a qualitative difference as to the quantum theory of the phase space {(φ,I)} compared to the usual one for {(q,p)}: In the quantum mechanics for the (φ,I)-model of the HO the three hj correspond to the self-adjoint generators Kj, j = 0,1,2, of certain irreducible unitary representations of the symplectic group or one of its infinitely many covering groups, the representations being parametrized by a (Bargmann) index k > 0. This index k determines the ground state energy of the (φ,I)-Hamiltonian . For an m-fold covering the lowest possible value for k is k = 1/m, which can be made arbitrarily small by choosing m accordingly! This is not in contradiction to the usual approach in terms of the operators Q and P which are now expressed as functions of the Kj, but keep their usual properties. The richer structure of the Kj quantum model of the HO is “erased” when passing to the simpler (Q,P)-model! This more refined approach to the quantum theory of the HO implies many experimental tests: Mulliken-type experiments for isotopic diatomic molecules, experiments with harmonic traps for atoms, ions and BE-condensates, with charged HOs in external electric fields and the (Landau) levels of charged particles in external magnetic fields, with the propagation of light in vacuum, passing through strong external electric or magnetic fields. Finally it may lead to a new theoretical estimate for the quantum vacuum energy of fields and its relation to the cosmological constant.
Abstract In classical mechanics the harmonic oscillator (HO) provides the generic example for the use of angle and action variables and I > 0 which played a prominent role in the “old” Bohr‐Sommerfeld quantum theory. However, already classically there is a problem which has essential implications for the quantum mechanics of the (φ,I)‐model for the HO: the transformation is only locally symplectic and singular for (q,p) = (0,0). Globally the phase space {(q,p)} has the topological structure of the plane ℝ2, whereas the phase space {(φ,I)} corresponds globally to the punctured plane ℝ2 ‐(0,0) or to a simple cone with the tip deleted. From the properties of the symplectic transformations on that phase space one can derive the functions h0 = I, h1 = Icos φ and h2 = ‐Isin φ as the basic coordinates on {(φ,I)}, where their Poisson brackets obey the Lie algebra of the symplectic group of the plane. This implies a qualitative difference as to the quantum theory of the phase space {(φ,I)} compared to the usual one for {(q,p)}: In the quantum mechanics for the (φ,I)‐model of the HO the three hj correspond to the self‐adjoint generators Kj, j = 0,1,2, of certain irreducible unitary representations of the symplectic group or one of its infinitely many covering groups, the representations being parametrized by a (Bargmann) index k > 0. This index k determines the ground state energy of the (φ,I)‐Hamiltonian . For an m‐fold covering the lowest possible value for k is k = 1/m, which can be made arbitrarily small by choosing m accordingly! This is not in contradiction to the usual approach in terms of the operators Q and P which are now expressed as functions of the Kj, but keep their usual properties. The richer structure of the Kj quantum model of the HO is “erased” when passing to the simpler (Q,P)‐model! This more refined approach to the quantum theory of the HO implies many experimental tests: Mulliken‐type experiments for isotopic diatomic molecules, experiments with harmonic traps for atoms, ions and BE‐condensates, with charged HOs in external electric fields and the (Landau) levels of charged particles in external magnetic fields, with the propagation of light in vacuum, passing through strong external electric or magnetic fields. Finally it may lead to a new theoretical estimate for the quantum vacuum energy of fields and its relation to the cosmological constant.