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Journal of Mathematical Physics

Realizations of the central extension of the inhomogeneous symplectic algebra as time dependent invariance algebras of nonrelativistic quantum systems

Guy Burdet, M. Perrin

Published Aug 1, 1975• 8 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We interpret the one-element central extension of the Lie algebra of the group of real inhomogeneous linear canonical transformations of phase space as a time dependent invariance algebra in the Schrödinger picture. By limiting to a two-dimensional space quantum system, we exhibit all the nonconjugate Hamiltonians contained in the symplectic algebra which, in the Heisenberg picture, plays the role of dynamical algebra and contains several known degeneracy and spectrum generating algebras.

DOI
10.1063/1.522738

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We interpret the one-element central extension of the Lie algebra of the group of real inhomogeneous linear canonical transformations of phase space as a time dependent invariance algebra in the Schrödinger picture. By limiting to a two-dimensional space quantum system, we exhibit all the nonconjugate Hamiltonians contained in the symplectic algebra which, in the Heisenberg picture, plays the role of dynamical algebra and contains several known degeneracy and spectrum generating algebras.
There exist a number of typical and interesting systems or models which possess three-generator Lie-algebraic structure in atomic physics, quantum optics, nuclear physics and laser physics. The well-known fact that all simple 3-generator algebras are either isomorphic to the algebra sl(2,C)sl(2,C)sl(2,C) or to one of its real forms enables us to treat these time-dependent quantum systems in a unified way. By making use of the Lewis-Riesenfeld invariant theory and the invariant-related unitary transformation formulation, the present paper obtains exact solutions of the time-dependent Schrödinger equations governing various three-generator quantum systems. For some quantum systems whose time-dependent Hamiltonians have no quasialgebraic structures, we show that the exact solutions can also be obtained by working in a sub-Hilbert-space corresponding to a particular eigenvalue of the conserved generator (i.e., the time-independent invariant that commutes with the time-dependent Hamiltonian). The topological property of geometric phase factors in time-dependent systems is briefly discussed.
We study quantum dynamics generated by time-dependent Hamiltonians in Krylov space, the minimal subspace in which the evolution takes place. We establish a direct link between dynamics in the time-dependent Krylov subspace and the underlying Lie-algebraic structure of the Hamiltonian. We develop a general framework in which the dynamics in the time-dependent Krylov subspace is generated by ladder operators of the associated Lie algebra. In particular, we identify the minimal conditions under which the exact time-dependent Krylov dynamics is naturally determined by the interaction-picture Hamiltonian and governed by an embedded sl(2,C)\mathfrak{sl}(2,\mathbb{C})sl(2,C) subalgebra. We further show that an exact single-exponential representation of the time-evolution operator gives rise to a distinct time-independent Krylov dynamics in a unitarily related basis, from which the exact time-dependent Krylov dynamics can nevertheless be recovered. We also extend the framework to the oscillator algebra as the simplest extension of the nilpotent Heisenberg--Weyl algebra, and provide further examples, including the translated and dilated harmonic oscillator, systems governed by closed Virasoro subalgebras, a spin in a rotating magnetic field, and higher-dimensional generalizations for multi-level systems. In addition, we introduce a new quantum speed limit to the complexity growth rate generated by a time-dependent generator and show that, for evolutions governed by a Lie algebra, it retains the same functional form as in the time-independent case. Remarkably, saturation of this bound is strongly affected by temporal driving and persists only when the Hamiltonian commutes with itself at different times. These results establish a unified framework for characterizing operator growth and Krylov complexity in time-dependent quantum systems with underlying Lie-algebraic structures.
A representation of invariants in quantum mechanics for a general time-dependent Hamiltonian is provided. The main properties of these operators and their relevance for solving the Schrödinger equation are discussed in light of this representation. In particular, the well-known Lewis and Riesenfeld’s method is shown to be recovered quite directly by the present approach. A detailed analysis is concerned with Hamiltonians which at each instant are elements of a finite dimensional Lie algebra. Exploiting the Wei and Norman’s theory for such Hamiltonians, it is found that the evolution of a quantum system is always determined, in part or fully, by an invariant which belongs to the same algebra.
Quantum symmetries that leave invariant physical transition probabilities are described by projective representations of Lie groups. The mathematical theory of projected representations for topologically connected Lie groups is reviewed and applied to the inhomogeneous symplectic group ISp(2n). The projective representations are given in terms of the ordinary unitary representations of the central extension of the group with respect to its first homotopy group direct product with its second cohomology group. The second cohomology group of ISp(2n) is the one dimensional abelian group and the central extension turns the 2n dimension abelian normal subgroup of translations of ISp(2n) into the Weyl-Heisenberg group. This is the quantum symmetry origin of the Heisenberg commutation relations that are the Hermitian representation of the Lie algebra of the Weyl-Heisenberg group.
We show that the group of linear canonical transformations in a 2N-dimensional phase space is the real symplectic group Sp(2N), and discuss its unitary representation in quantum mechanics when the N coordinates are diagonal. We show that this Sp(2N) group is the well-known dynamical group of the N-dimensional harmonic oscillator. Finally, we study the case of n particles in a q-dimensional oscillator potential, for which N = nq, and discuss the chain of groups Sp(2nq)⊃Sp(2n)×O(q). An application to the calculation of matrix elements is given in a following paper.
We investigate the classical and quantum oscillator with time-dependent mass and frequency, in the framework of the Lie group theory. Our analysis shows that both systems possess five time-dependent Noether invariants, where only two of them are functionally independent. In the classical case, three of these invariants form the su(1,1) Lie algebra under the Poisson bracket operation, while in the quantum case the corresponding invariants form the su(1,1) Lie algebra under the commutator operation. Since this algebra underlies the noncompact group SU(1,1), we are thus able to define unambiguously the dynamical group related to the generalized quantum oscillator. Furthermore, the Hamiltonian of this system can be expressed in terms of the Noether invariant operators satisfying the su(1,1) Lie algebra. This form is useful in the evaluation of the energy spectrum and in the study of coherence and squeezing. Some particular cases are briefly illustrated. The other two Noether invariants can be interpreted as the quadrature-phase amplitudes involved in the quantum nondemolition measurements and in the problem of the generation of coherent and squeezed states.