The commutator of position and momentum operators is first considered in the coordinate and momentum representations, and then in an abstract Hilbert space. The reader is then introduced to canonical operators with the associated canonical quantization of commutation rules, which consists of maps defined on a symplectic space and taking values in the set of unitary operators on a Hilbert space. If the symplectic space is finite-dimensional, all of its irreducible representations are unitarily equivalent. The Weyl exponentiated form of the commutation relations is described and investigated. One then arrives at the definition of Weyl systems, and it is shown how to recover from them the formulation in terms of self-adjoint operators which satisfy a generalized form of commutation relations. Further topics are the Heisenberg representation for temporal evolution and the generalized uncertainty relations. Unitary operators associated with symplectic linear transformations are then considered, and, within this framework, translations, rotations and the harmonic oscillator are considered. The Weyl programme is then reassessed. Lastly, the basic postulates of modern quantum theory are eventually studied: the probabilistic nature of the predictions of results of measurements; the correspondence between observables and self-adjoint operators on Hilbert spaces; the expected result of measuring an observable quantity; and the evolution of the state vector in systems which are not affected by any external influence. The chapter ends with an outline of rigged Hilbert space formalism and its applications. The commutator in wave mechanics In the first part of this book we studied wave mechanics within the framework of the Schrödinger equation.
We study, classify, and explore the mathematical properties of finite-dimensional Lie algebras occurring in the quantum dynamics of single-mode and self-interacting bosonic systems. These Lie algebras are contained in the real skew-hermitian Weyl algebra
A^1, defined as the real subalgebra of the Weyl algebra
A1 consisting of all skew-hermitian polynomials. A central aspect of our analysis is the choice of basis for
A^1, which is composed of skew-symmetric combinations of two elements of the Weyl algebra called monomials, namely strings of creation and annihilation operators combined with their hermitian conjugate. Motivated by the quest for analytical solutions in quantum optimal control and dynamics, we aim at answering the following three fundamental questions: (i) What are the finite-dimensional Lie subalgebras in
A^1 generated by monomials alone? (ii)~What are the finite-dimensional Lie subalgebras in
A^1 that contain the free Hamiltonian? (iii) What are the non-abelian and finite-dimensional Lie subalgebras that can be faithfully realized in
A^1? We answer the first question by providing all possible realizations of all finite-dimensional non-abelian Lie algebras that are generated by monomials alone. We answer the second question by proving that any non-abelian and finite-dimensional subalgebra of
A^1 that contains a free Hamiltonian term must be a subalgebra of the Schrödinger algebra. We partially answer the third question by classifying all nilpotent and non-solvable Lie algebras that can be realized in
A^1, and comment on the remaining cases. Finally, we also discuss the implications of our results for quantum control theory. Our work constitutes an important stepping stone to understanding quantum dynamics of bosonic systems in full generality.
We show the use of the theory of Lie algebras, especially their oscillator realizations, in the context of quantum mechanics. One can construct oscillator realizations from matrix realizations. In the case of symplectic and special orthogonal algebra, we demonstrate an alternative method of obtaining oscillator realizations from symmetric or exterior power of a vector space of annihilation and creation bosonic or fermionic operators. We find Lie algebra of polynomials of degree at most two in phase space of a mechanical system, which form the semi-direct product of the Heisenberg algebra and symplectic algebra. It is shown that a classical system with Hamiltonian function in this algebra can be quantized by two equivalent representations - Schrödinger or Bargmann-Fock representation. The second mentioned representation generates the same operators of symplectic algebra as we got from their previous formal construction from symmetric power of a vector space of bosonic operators. Quantization is demonstrated on the bosonic harmonic oscillator. We use the similarities between bosonic and fermionic oscillator realizations to define the fermionic harmonic oscillator. Some properties of spinor representations of special orthogonal algebra are illustrated on its state space. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
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.
The conventional quantization of the harmonic oscillator in terms of operators Q and P can be implemented with the help of irreducible unitary representations of the Heisenberg-Weyl group which acts transitively and effectively on the simply connected classical phase space S q,p ≊ 2 . In the description of the harmonic oscillator in terms of angle and action variables ϕ and I the associated phase space S ϕ,I corresponds to the multiply connected punctured plane 2 – {0}, on which the 3-dimensional symplectic group Sp(2, ) acts transitively, leaving the origin invariant. As this group contains the compact subgroup U (1) it has infinitely many covering groups. In the here relevant irreducible unitary representations (positive discrete series) the self-adjoint generator K o of U (l) represents the classical action variable I . It has the possible spectra n + k, n = 0,1,...; k > 0, where k depends on the covering group. This implies different possible spectra for the action variable Hamiltonian ℏωK 0 of the harmonic oscillator. On the other hand, expressing the operators Q and P (non-linearly) in terms of the three generators K 0 etc. of Sp (2, ) leads to the usual framework. Possible physical (experimental) implications and generalizations to higher dimensions are discussed briefly.
This paper studies a class of representations (called quadratic) of the canonical commutation relations over symplectic spaces of arbitrary dimension, which naturally generalizes coherent and symplectic (i.e. quasifree) representations and which has previously been heuristically employed in the special case of finite degrees of freedom in the physics literature. An explicit characterization of canonical quadratic transformations in terms of a 'standard form' is given, and it is shown that they can be exponentiated to give representations of the Weyl algebra. Necessary and sufficient conditions are presented for the unitary equivalence of these representations with the Fock representation. Possible applications to quantum optics and quantum field theory are briefly indicated.