Group Representations in Quantum Mechanics

Robert D. Richtmyer

George W. Mackey

Lochlainn O'Raifeartaigh

Stephen G Low

The quantum phase leads to projective representations of symmetry groups in quantum mechanics. The projective representations are equivalent to the unitary representations of the central extension of the group. A celebrated example is Wigner's formulation of special relativistic quantum mechanics as the projective representations of the inhomogeneous Lorentz group. However, Wigner's formulation makes no mention of the Weyl-Heisenberg group and the hermitian representation of its algebra that are the Heisenberg commutation relations fundamental to quantum physics. We put aside the relativistic symmetry and show that the maximal quantum symmetry that leaves the Heisenberg commutation relations invariant is the projective representations of the conformally scaled inhomogeneous symplectic group. The Weyl-Heisenberg group and noncommutative structure arises directly because the quantum phase requires projective representations. We then consider the relativistic implications of the quantum phase that lead to the Born line element and the projective representations of an inhomogeneous unitary group that defines a noninertial quantum theory. (Understanding noninertial quantum mechanics is a prelude to understanding quantum gravity.) The remarkable properties of this symmetry and its limits are studied.

James Lindesay

S. Hasibul Hassan Chowdhury, S. Twareque Ali

This paper is devoted to the construction and analysis of the Wigner functions for noncommutative quantum mechanics, their marginal distributions, and star-products, following a technique developed earlier, viz, using the unitary irreducible representations of the group GNC, which is the three fold central extension of the Abelian group of ℝ4. These representations have been exhaustively studied in earlier papers. The group GNC is identified with the kinematical symmetry group of noncommutative quantum mechanics of a system with two degrees of freedom. The Wigner functions studied here reflect different levels of non-commutativity—both the operators of position and those of momentum not commuting, the position operators not commuting and finally, the case of standard quantum mechanics, obeying the canonical commutation relations only.