From the Circle to the Square: Symmetry and Degeneracy in Quantum Mechanics

Mohsen Razavy

G B Shaw

The notions of systematic and accidental degeneracy are discussed for a quantum-mechanical particle in a two-dimensional box. Separability of coordinates is shown to admit extra systematic degeneracy over that expected from the point-group symmetry. The 'accidental' degeneracy for square and triangular boxes is discussed in detail and related to geometric symmetries-described by rings of operators, however, and not by a symmetry group.

J. M. Jauch, Edward L. Hill

Rajat K. Bhaduri

Xiaojing Jin, Boyang LIU

In the problem of inverse-square force, there exists a hidden SO(4) symmetry, which is manifested as a conserved quantity the Laplace-Runge-Lenz vector in the classical Kepler problem, and as the degeneracy of hydrogen atom energy levels beyond the three-dimensional rotational symmetry in quantum mechanics. This paper presents a more intuitive representation of this hidden symmetry through geometric imagery. Additionally, the paper derives in detail the relevant formulas for the raising and lowering operators corresponding to this symmetry in quantum mechanics.

Wangyao Li, Kunnat J. Sebastian

Abstract In this paper we show how the classical result of a charged particle moving in a circle in the xy plane, when a uniform magnetic field is directed along the z -axis, can be derived from the Landau quantum theory using the coherent states of the two-dimensional isotropic harmonic oscillator in the xy plane. The coherent states in this case are the simultaneous eigen vectors of the annihilation operators a + and a − . We prove that the time-dependent coordinate space wave packets representing the time-dependent coherent states move in a circle with the cyclotron frequency ω c = ∣ q ∣ B m and with a radius given by the classical expression, but given in terms of the quantum mechanical expectation values. The expectation value of the energy of the particle and of the square of the radius of its circular are proportional to the square of the magnitude of the eigen value of a + in the coherent state, where as the x and y coordinates of the centre of the circle are proportional to the real and the imaginary parts of the eigen value of a − . The phase of the circular motion is the same as the phase of the complex eigen value of a + . So for a given energy of the particle or for a given radius of the circular orbit, there are an infinite number of circles which differ from each other by the x and y coordinates of the centre as well as the phase of the circular motion. The infinite degeneracy of the Landau levels is due to the invariance of the energy eigen values under spatial translations in the xy plane and rotations about the z -axis. We also show that as the magnitude of the eigen value of a + becomes much larger than one, the relative uncertainty or fluctuation in the energy and in the radius of the circular orbit becomes negligibly small as we expect for a classical state.