Relating the Quantum Mechanics of Discrete Systems to Standard Canonical Quantum Mechanics

Geoffrey Hemion

Gerard ’t Hooft

Discrete quantum mechanics is here defined to be a quantum theory of wave functions defined on integers P_i and Q_i, while canonical quantum mechanics is assumed to be based on wave functions on the real numbers, R^n. We study reversible mappings from the position operators q_i and their quantum canonical operators p_i of a canonical theory, onto the discrete, commuting operators Q_i and P_i. In this paper we are particularly interested in harmonic oscillators. In the discrete system, these turn into deterministic models, which is our motivation for this study. We regard the procedure worked out here as a "canonical formalism" for discrete dynamics, and as a stepping stone to handling discrete deterministic systems in a quantum formalism.

Stanley Gudder

Vasily Evgenevich Tarasov

An exact discretization of the canonical commutation and corresponding uncertainty relations are suggested. We prove that the canonical commutation relations of discrete quantum mechanics, which is based on standard finite difference, holds for constant wave functions only. In this paper, we use the recently proposed exact discretization of derivatives, which is based on differences that are represented by infinite series. This new mathematical tool allows us to build sensible discrete quantum mechanics based on the suggested differences and includes the correct canonical commutation and uncertainty relations.

Maxwell R. Siebersma, Basie Seibert, Samuel Shuman +1 more

"Polymer quantum mechanics" is the name given to a quantization scheme inspired by loop quantum gravity in which the configuration space of the theory is chosen to have a discrete topology. Polymer quantization yields a representation of the canonical commutation relations that is genuinely distinct from the conventional "Schrödinger" representation. In this paper, we summarize the main features of polymer quantum mechanics and investigate in detail the polymer quantization of systems with configuration spaces that are classically compact. We show explicitly how using the standard construction of polymer states leads to a Hilbert space of states defined on a finite graph of points. By way of example, we find the exact energy eigenvalues and eigenfunctions for a particle on a ring and a particle in a box defined on such lattices, and discuss similarities and differences from standard Schrödinger quantum mechanics. We also explore the continuum limit of states in these systems, and demonstrate in detail how the exact eigenfunctions in the position representation approach their continuum counterparts.

Lay Nam Chang, Zachary Lewis, Djordje Minić +1 more