A generalization of Wigner's representation theorem is presented that may be applied when superselection rules (of a specified character) must be taken into account. At the same time some gaps in existing proofs of Wigner's theorem are eliminated. The connection between Wigner,s theorem and the so called fundamental theorem of projective geometry is pointed out, and a new, short proof of the latter theorem (valid for an arbitrary field of numbers) is presented. The equivalent possibilities of characterizing symmetry transformations as mappings leaving invariant the logical structure of quantum mechanics, as isometric linear or conjugated linear transformations connecting two complex Hilbert spaces, or as mappings leaving invariant the algebraic structure of quantum mechanics (or equivalently the structure of the equations of motion) are discussed and lead to an invariant (coordinate free) characterization of reversal of the direction of motion (time inversion). An analogue of Wigner's theorem for symmetry transformations in the recently discussed quaternion quantum mechanics is proved in an appendix, and it is pointed out how quaternion quantum mechanics, as well as ordinary complex quantum mechanics, may be consistently represented in the framework of real quantum mechanics, which in this sense appears as a super theory. The symmetry transformationsmore » of classical mechanics are discussed in relation to their quantum mechanical analogues in another appendix. They are intimately connected with the canonical formalism. (auth)« less
A generalization of Wigner's representation theorem is presented that may be applied when superselection rules (of a specified character) must be taken into account. At the same time some gaps in existing proofs of Wigner's theorem are eliminated. The connection between Wigner,s theorem and the so called fundamental theorem of projective geometry is pointed out, and a new, short proof of the latter theorem (valid for an arbitrary field of numbers) is presented. The equivalent possibilities of characterizing symmetry transformations as mappings leaving invariant the logical structure of quantum mechanics, as isometric linear or conjugated linear transformations connecting two complex Hilbert spaces, or as mappings leaving invariant the algebraic structure of quantum mechanics (or equivalently the structure of the equations of motion) are discussed and lead to an invariant (coordinate free) characterization of reversal of the direction of motion (time inversion). An analogue of Wigner's theorem for symmetry transformations in the recently discussed quaternion quantum mechanics is proved in an appendix, and it is pointed out how quaternion quantum mechanics, as well as ordinary complex quantum mechanics, may be consistently represented in the framework of real quantum mechanics, which in this sense appears as a super theory. The symmetry transformationsmore » of classical mechanics are discussed in relation to their quantum mechanical analogues in another appendix. They are intimately connected with the canonical formalism. (auth)« less
The structures are physical systems and/or their mathematical descriptions consisting of elements such as particles, fields, observables, operators etc and of relations between these elements: the equations of motion and the rules of quantum mechanics. Examples of symmetries are reflections, permutations of particles, time reversal. The physical system has a symmetry group means, then, that there is a group of transformations leaving the equations of motion and the rules of quantum mechanics invariant. The discrete symmetries lead to conservation laws frequently expressible in terms of quantum numbers, but sometimes requiring a more elaborate description. The observables corresponding to the super-selection quantum numbers can be measured without disturbing any other measurement; their values are always sharp. The chapter shows that the invariant subspace may be labelled by continuous quantum numbers (for instance momentum) when the direct sum becomes a direct integral.
As earlier conjectured by several authors and much later established by Solèr, from the lattice-theory point of view, Quantum Mechanics may be formulated in real, complex or quaternionic Hilbert spaces only. On the other hand, no quantum systems seem to exist that are naturally described in a real or quaternionic Hilbert space. In a previous paper [23], we showed that any quantum system which is elementary from the viewpoint of the Poincaré symmetry group and it is initially described in a real Hilbert space, it can also be described within the standard complex Hilbert space framework. This complex description is unique and more precise than the real one as, for instance, in the complex description, all self-adjoint operators represent observables defined by the symmetry group. The complex picture fulfils the thesis of Solér’s theorem and permits the standard formulation of the quantum Noether’s theorem. The present work is devoted to investigate the remaining case, namely, the possibility of a description of a relativistic elementary quantum system in a quaternionic Hilbert space. Everything is done exploiting recent results of the quaternionic spectral theory that were independently developed. In the initial part of this work, we extend some results of group representation theory and von Neumann algebra theory from the real and complex cases to the quaternionic Hilbert space case. We prove the double commutant theorem also for quaternionic von Neumann algebras (whose proof requires a different procedure with respect to the real and complex cases) and we extend to the quaternionic case a result established in the previous paper concerning the classification of irreducible von Neumann algebras into three categories. In the second part of the paper, we consider an elementary relativistic system within Wigner’s approach defined as a locally-faithful irreducible strongly-continuous unitary representation of the Poincaré group in a quaternionic Hilbert space. We prove that, if the squared-mass operator is non-negative, the system admits a natural, Poincaré invariant and unique up to sign, complex structure which commutes with the whole algebra of observables generated by the representation itself. This complex structure leads to a physically equivalent reformulation of the theory in a complex Hilbert space. Within this complex formulation, differently from what happens in the quaternionic one, all self-adjoint operators represent observables in agreement with Solèr’s thesis, the standard quantum version of Noether theorem may be formulated and the notion of composite system may be given in terms of tensor product of elementary systems. In the third part of the paper, we focus on the physical hypotheses adopted to define a quantum elementary relativistic system relaxing them on the one hand, and making our model physically more general on the other hand. We use a physically more accurate notion of irreducibility regarding the algebra of observables only, we describe the symmetries in terms of automorphisms of the restricted lattice of elementary propositions of the quantum system and we adopt a notion of continuity referred to the states viewed as probability measures on the elementary propositions. Also in this case, the final result proves that there exists a unique (up to sign) Poincaré invariant complex structure making the theory complex and completely fitting into Solèr’s picture. The overall conclusion is that relativistic elementary systems are naturally and better described in complex Hilbert spaces even if starting from a real or quaternionic Hilbert space formulation and this complex description is uniquely fixed by physics.
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).
The Wigner problem, i.e. the investigation of general quantum mechanical commutation relations consistent with the Heisenberg evolution equations of a given shape, is studied. We follow a recently proposed generalization of this idea within which the classical analogy is postulated only for the shape of the time evolution equations and not for a Hamiltonian itself. This links our investigation to the problem of alternative Hamiltonians of classical mechanics and to canonically inequivalent phase-space descriptions of physical systems governed by the same Newton equations of motion. Warned that the time evolution and the other symmetry generators may be given ambiguously even in the formalism of classical mechanics, we do not a priori assume the shape of their quantum analogues. Instead we only require that the set of basic algebraic relations, which quantum mechanical observables are to obey, has a Lie algebra structure. Such a requirement appears to be sufficient to find solutions for simple oscillator-like dynamics. New algebras of quantum mechanical observables are not constructed as a linear envelope of the Heisenberg algebra, and their representations reflect physical results unexpected in the framework of the canonical approach. We illustrate our approach in detail for the example of the one-dimensional harmonic oscillator using the representation of the generalized coherent states.
A classical problem in axiomatic quantum mechanics is deducing a Hilbert space realization for a quantum logic that admits a vector space coordinatization of the Piron–McLaren type. Our aim is to show how a theorem of M. Solér [Characterization of Hilbert spaces by orthomodular spaces, Comm. Algebra23 (1995) 219–243.] can be used to get a (partial) solution of this problem. We first derive a generalization of the Wigner theorem on symmetry transformations that holds already in the Piron–McLaren frame. Then we investigate which conditions on the quantum logic allow the use of Solér's theorem in order to obtain a Hilbert space solution for the coordinatization problem.
The basic ingredients of the ‘‘consistent histories’’ approach to quantum theory are a space 𝒰𝒫 of ‘‘history propositions’’ and a space 𝒟 of ‘‘decoherence functionals.’’ In this article we consider such history quantum theories in the case where 𝒰𝒫 is given by the set of projectors 𝒫(𝒱) on some Hilbert space 𝒱. We define the notion of a ‘‘physical symmetry of a history quantum theory’’ (PSHQT) and specify such objects exhaustively with the aid of an analog of Wigner’s theorem. In order to prove this theorem we investigate the structure of 𝒟, define the notion of an ‘‘elementary decoherence functional,’’ and show that each decoherence functional can be expanded as a certain combination of these functionals. We call two history quantum theories that are related by a PSHQT ‘‘physically equivalent’’ and show explicitly, in the case of history quantum mechanics, how this notion is compatible with one that has appeared previously.