From the Equations of Motion to the Canonical Commutation Relations

The problem of whether or not the equations of motion of a quantum system determine the commutation relations was posed by E.P.Wigner in 1950. A similar problem (known as "The Inverse Problem in the Calculus of Variations") was posed in a classical setting as back as in 1887 by H.Helmoltz and has received great attention also in recent times. The aim of this paper is to discuss how these two apparently unrelated problems can actually be discussed in a somewhat unified framework. After reviewing briefly the Inverse Problem and the existence of alternative structures for classical systems, we discuss the geometric structures that are intrinsically present in Quantum Mechanics, starting from finite-level systems and then moving to a more general setting by using the Weyl-Wigner approach, showing how this approach can accomodate in an almost natural way the existence of alternative structures in Quantum Mechanics as well.Comment: 199 pages; to be published in "La Rivista del Nuovo Cimento" (www.sif.it/SIF/en/portal/journals

Highlights of Symmetry Groups

The concepts of symmetry and symmetry groups are at the heart of several developments in modern theoretical and mathematical physics. The present paper is devoted to a number of selected topics within this framework: Euclidean and rotation groups; the properties of fullerenes in physical chemistry; Galilei, Lorentz and Poincare groups; conformal transformations and the Laplace equation; quantum groups and Sklyanin algebras. For example, graphite can be vaporized by laser irradiation, producing a remarkably stable cluster consisting of 60 carbon atoms. The corresponding theoretical model considers a truncated icosahedron, i.e. a polygon with 60 vertices and 32 faces, 12 of which are pentagonal and 20 hexagonal. The Carbon 60 molecule obtained when a carbon atom is placed at each vertex of this structure has all valences satisfied by two single bonds and one double bond. In other words, a structure in which a pentagon is completely surrounded by hexagons is stable. Thus, a cage in which all 12 pentagons are completely surrounded by hexagons has optimum stability. On a more formal side, the exactly solvable models of quantum and statistical physics can be studied with the help of the quantum inverse problem method. The problem of enumerating the discrete quantum systems which can be solved by the quantum inverse problem method reduces to the problem of enumerating the operator-valued functions that satisfy an equation involving a fixed solution of the quantum Yang--Baxter equation. Two basic equations exist which provide a systematic procedure for obtaining completely integrable lattice approximations to various continuous completely integrable systems. This analysis leads in turn to the discovery of Sklyanin algebras.Comment: Plain Tex with one figur

Remarks on Nambu-Poisson and Nambu-Jacobi brackets

It is shown that Nambu-Poisson and Nambu-Jacobi brackets can be defined inductively: a n-bracket, n>2, is Nambu-Poisson (resp. Nambu-Jacobi) if and only if fixing an argument we get a (n-1)-Nambu-Poisson (resp. Nambu-Jacobi) bracket. As a by-product we get relatively simple proofs of Darboux-type theorems for these structures.Comment: Latex, 13 page

Reduction and unfolding: the Kepler problem

In this paper we show, in a systematic way, how to relate the Kepler problem to the isotropic harmonic oscillator. Unlike previous approaches, our constructions are carried over in the Lagrangian formalism dealing with second order vector fields. We therefore provide a tangent bundle version of the Kustaahneimo-Stiefel map.Comment: latex2e, 28 pages; misprints correcte

On Filippov algebroids and multiplicative Nambu-Poisson structures

We discuss relations between linear Nambu-Poisson structures and Filippov algebras and define Filippov algebroids which are n-ary generalizations of Lie algebroids. We also prove results describing multiplicative Nambu- Poisson structures on Lie groups. In particular, we show that simple Lie groups do not admit multiplicative Nambu-Poisson structures of order n>2.Comment: Latex, 22 pages, to appear in Diff. Geom. App

Classical brackets for dissipative systems

We show how to write a set of brackets for the Langevin equation, describing the dissipative motion of a classical particle, subject to external random forces. The method does not rely on an action principle, and is based solely on the phenomenological description of the dissipative dynamics as given by the Langevin equation. The general expression for the brackets satisfied by the coordinates, as well as by the external random forces, at different times, is determined, and it turns out that they all satisfy the Jacobi identity. Upon quantization, these classical brackets are found to coincide with the commutation rules for the quantum Langevin equation, that have been obtained in the past, by appealing to microscopic conservative quantum models for the friction mechanism.Comment: Latex file, 8 pages, prepared for the Conference Spacetime and Fundamental Interactions: Quantum Aspects, Vietri sul Mare, Italy, 26-31 May 200

On the relation between states and maps in infinite dimensions

Relations between states and maps, which are known for quantum systems in finite-dimensional Hilbert spaces, are formulated rigorously in geometrical terms with no use of coordinate (matrix) interpretation. In a tensor product realization they are represented simply by a permutation of factors. This leads to natural generalizations for infinite-dimensional Hilbert spaces and a simple proof of a generalized Choi Theorem. The natural framework is based on spaces of Hilbert-Schmidt operators $\mathcal{L}_2(\mathcal{H}_2,\mathcal{H}_1)$ and the corresponding tensor products $\mathcal{H}_1\otimes\mathcal{H}_2^*$ of Hilbert spaces. It is proved that the corresponding isomorphisms cannot be naturally extended to compact (or bounded) operators, nor reduced to the trace-class operators. On the other hand, it is proven that there is a natural continuous map $\mathcal{C}:\mathcal{L}_1(\mathcal{L}_2(\mathcal{H}_2,\mathcal{H}_1))\to \mathcal{L}_\infty(\mathcal{L}(\mathcal{H}_2),\mathcal{L}_1(\mathcal{H}_1))$ from trace-class operators on $\mathcal{L}_2(\mathcal{H}_2,\mathcal{H}_1)$ (with the nuclear norm) into compact operators mapping the space of all bounded operators on $\mathcal{H}_2$ into trace class operators on $\mathcal{H}_1$ (with the operator-norm). Also in the infinite-dimensional context, the Schmidt measure of entanglement and multipartite generalizations of state-maps relations are considered in the paper.Comment: 19 page