Representations of discrete symmetry operators (DSO's) connected with space (𝒫), time (T), and generalized charge (𝒞) are considered. It is shown that if one writes a DSO as exp (iπΩ) × a phase transformation, then (under certain conditions on Ωs) to each DSO there corresponds a set of Ωs which is closed with respect a Lie algebra, which is isomorphic to the Lie algebra of generators of rotation in an n-dimensional Euclidean space; where n is the number of commuting observables that changes sign under this DSO in a given representation (e.g. linear momentum representation). In the particular case of the (T𝒞𝒫) operation, there are six Ωs, of which two are diagonal, viz. the generalized charge Q, and spin projection along the z axis Sz; corresponding Euclidean group is four-dimensional. For the sake of completeness, the representations are also given for the following cases: (i) nonrelativistic quantum mechanics, (ii) quantum theory of free fields, in terms of field operators.
Advances in the study of relativistic quantum phase space have established the set of Linear Canonical Transformations (LCTs) as a candidate for the fundamental symmetry group associated with relativistic quantum physics. In this framework, for a spacetime of signature
(N+,N−), the symmetry of the relativistic quantum phase space is described by the LCT group, isomorphic to the symplectic Lie group
Sp(2N+,2N−), which preserves the canonical commutation relations (CCRs) and treats spacetime coordinates and momenta operators on an equal footing. In this work, we investigate the contraction structure of the Lie algebra associated with the LCT group for signature
(1,4), clarifying how familiar spacetime symmetry groups emerge from this more fundamental quantum phase space symmetry. Using the Inönü-Wigner group contraction formalism, we examine each limit case corresponding to the possible combinations of asymptotic values of two fundamental length scale parameters associated with the theory, namely a minimum length
ℓ and a maximum length
L, which may be identified respectively with the Planck length and the de Sitter radius. We explicitly analyze how contractions of the LCT Lie algebra lead to the physically relevant de Sitter algebra
so(1,4) and, in the flat-curvature limit, to the Poincaré algebra
iso(1,3) of four-dimensional spacetime. This provides an explicit mechanism through which relativistic spacetime symmetry can emerge from a deeper symplectic structure of quantum phase space.
We discuss some basic properties of Lie group representations in rigged Hilbert spaces. In particular, we show that a differentiable representation in a rigged Hilbert space may be obtained as the projective limit of a family of continuous representations in a nested scale of Hilbert spaces. We also construct a couple of examples illustrative of the key features of group representations in rigged Hilbert spaces. Finally, we establish a simple criterion for the integrability of an operator Lie algebra in a rigged Hilbert space.