Constraint Theory and Quantization Methods

Christian Helm, Joachim Keller

Jędrzej Śniatycki

O. Yu. Shvedov

We study the semiclassical mechanics of systems with second-class constraints. We assume that the quantum mechanics of such a system is constructed by the Batalin–Fradkin–Tyutin method, where some additional coordinates and momenta are introduced and second-class constraints are converted into firstclass constraints. We also assume that the algebraic quantization method is used to quantize the extended system. To construct the semiclassical approximation, we use the Maslov complex germ theory. We study the semiclassical states of a system with second-class constraints, their scalar product, and the action of semiclassical observables in the first order of the semiclassical expansion. We consider the transformation of semiclassical states in the course of evolution.

Daniel Schubring, Sriram Ganeshan

Nonholonomic mechanics describes systems subject to non-integrable velocity constraints, such as rolling bodies and skating motion. These systems generally lack a canonical Hamiltonian formulation, obstructing standard quantization methods. Here we quantize nonholonomic systems as Markovian open quantum systems, with the nonholonomic constraint appearing in a large-dissipation limit. We find explicit Lindblad superoperators that reproduce the classical dynamics of the Chaplygin sleigh and the Suslov problem in the semiclassical limit. The master equation is numerically simulated, and the covariance is shown to satisfy a relation predicted by the theory of metastability in open quantum systems.

Marc Dvorak

Abstract We show that there is a hidden freedom in quantum many-body theory associated with overcompleteness of the time evolution through the single-particle subspace of a many-body system. To fix the freedom, an additional constraint is necessary. We argue that the appropriate constraint on the time evolution through the subspace is to quantize the propagation of entangled pairs of particles, represented by the single-particle spectral function, instead of individual particles. This solution method creates a surface that indicates the multiplicity of every solution to the inverse problem defined by matching the freedom to the constraint. Upon measurement, the system collapses nonlocally onto a single quantized solution. In addition to a combinatoric multiplicity, each solution acquires a multiplicity due to its stability when subject to a small variation in the microscopic degrees of freedom. Numerical calculations for a two-level system show that our theory improves upon standard theory in the description of non-quasiparticle spectral features. Our reinterpretation of quantum many-body theory is not based on the Born rule and offers a more faithful representation of experiments than current theory by modeling individual, quantized events with an explicit collapse model.

Jędrzej Śniatycki