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arXiv:math-ph/0303019 · Physical review. E, Statistical physics, plasmas, fluids, and related interdisciplinary topics

Slide-rule-like property of Wigner’s little groups and cyclicSmatrices for multilayer optics

ELENA M. GEORGIEVA, Y. S. Kim

Published Aug 18, 2003• 21 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

It is noted that 2x2 "S" matrices in multilayer optics can be represented by the Sp(2) group whose algebraic property is the same as the group of Lorentz transformations applicable to two spacelike and one timelike dimensions. It is also noted that Wigner's little groups have a slide-rule-like property that allows us to perform multiplications by additions. It is shown that these two mathematical properties lead to a cyclic representation of the S matrix for multilayer optics, as in the case of ABCD matrices for laser cavities. It is therefore possible to write the N-layer S matrix as a multiplication of the N single-layer S matrices resulting in the same mathematical expression with one of the parameters multiplied by N. In addition, it is noted, as in the case of lens optics, that multilayer optics can serve as an analog computer for the contraction of Wigner's little groups for internal space-time symmetries of relativistic particles.

DOI
10.1103/physreve.68.026606

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It is noted that 2x2 "S" matrices in multilayer optics can be represented by the Sp(2) group whose algebraic property is the same as the group of Lorentz transformations applicable to two spacelike and one timelike dimensions. It is also noted that Wigner's little groups have a slide-rule-like property that allows us to perform multiplications by additions. It is shown that these two mathematical properties lead to a cyclic representation of the S matrix for multilayer optics, as in the case of ABCD matrices for laser cavities. It is therefore possible to write the N-layer S matrix as a multiplication of the N single-layer S matrices resulting in the same mathematical expression with one of the parameters multiplied by N. In addition, it is noted, as in the case of lens optics, that multilayer optics can serve as an analog computer for the contraction of Wigner's little groups for internal space-time symmetries of relativistic particles.
This book explains the Lorentz mathematical group in a language familiar to physicists. While the three-dimensional rotation group is one of the standard mathematical tools in physics, the Lorentz group of the four-dimensional Minkowski space is still very strange to most present-day physicists. It plays an essential role in understanding particles moving at close to light speed and is becoming the essential language for quantum optics, classical optics, and information science. The book is based on papers and books published by the authors on the representations of the Lorentz group based on harmonic oscillators and their applications to high-energy physics and to Wigner functions applicable to quantum optics. It also covers the two-by-two representations of the Lorentz group applicable to ray optics, including cavity, multilayer and lens optics, as well as representations of the Lorentz group applicable to Stokes parameters and the Poincare sphere on polarization optics.
According to Eugene Wigner, quantum mechanics is a physics of Fourier transformations, and special relativity is a physics of Lorentz transformations. Since two-by-two matrices with unit determinant form the group SL(2,c) which acts as the universal covering group of the Lorentz group, the two-by-two matrices constitute the natural language for special relativity. The central language for optical instruments is the two-by-two matrix called the beam transfer matrix, or the so-called ABCD matrix. It is shown that the ABCD matrices also form the SL(2,C) group. Thus, it is possible to perform experiments in special relativity using optical instruments. Likewise, the optical instruments can be explained in terms of the symmetry of relativistic particles.
It is shown that the Lorentz group is the natural language for two-beam interferometers if there are no decoherence effects. This aspect of the interferometer can be translated into six-parameter representations of the Lorentz group, as in the case of polarization optics where there are two orthogonal components of one light beam. It is shown that there are groups of transformations which leave the coherency or density matrix invariant, and this symmetry property is formulated within the framework of Wigner's little groups. An additional mathematical apparatus is needed for the transition from a pure state to an impure state. Decoherence matrices are constructed for this process, and their properties are studied in detail. Experimental tests of this symmetry property are possible.
This note summarizes the physics and mathematics of Lorentz transformations for massless particles, specifically for photons. We provide a complete analytical derivation of Wigner's little group matrix and a closed formula for the calculation of Wigner's angle for arbitrary Lorentz transformations. Our derivation highlights the geometrical content of the sequence of little group transformations leading to Wigner's matrix and links it to classical theorems in spherical trigonometry.
This book explains the Lorentz mathematical group in a language familiar to physicists. While the three-dimensional rotation group is one of the standard mathematical tools in physics, the Lorentz group of the four-dimensional Minkowski space is still very strange to most present-day physicists. It plays an essential role in understanding particles moving at close to light speed and is becoming the essential language for quantum optics, classical optics, and information science. The book is based on papers and books published by the authors on the representations of the Lorentz group based on harmonic oscillators and their applications to high-energy physics and to Wigner functions applicable to quantum optics. It also covers the two-by-two representations of the Lorentz group applicable to ray optics, including cavity, multilayer and lens optics, as well as representations of the Lorentz group applicable to Stokes parameters and the Poincare sphere on polarization optics.
This book explains the Lorentz mathematical group in a language familiar to physicists. While the three-dimensional rotation group is one of the standard mathematical tools in physics, the Lorentz group of the four-dimensional Minkowski space is still very strange to most present-day physicists. It plays an essential role in understanding particles moving at close to light speed and is becoming the essential language for quantum optics, classical optics, and information science. The book is based on papers and books published by the authors on the representations of the Lorentz group based on harmonic oscillators and their applications to high-energy physics and to Wigner functions applicable to quantum optics. It also covers the two-by-two representations of the Lorentz group applicable to ray optics, including cavity, multilayer and lens optics, as well as representations of the Lorentz group applicable to Stokes parameters and the Poincaré sphere on polarization optics.