The Biedenharn type relativistic wavefunctions are considered on the group manifold of the Poincaré group. It is shown that the wavefunctions can be factorized on the group manifold into translation group and Lorentz group parts. A Lagrangian formalism and field equations for such factorizations are given. Parametrizations of the functions obtained are studied in terms of a ten-parameter set of the Poincaré group. An explicit construction of the wavefunction for the spin 1/2 is given. A relation of the proposed description with the quantum field theory and harmonic analysis on the Poincaré group is discussed.
A novel method is developed to derive the original Dirac equation and demonstrate that it is the only Poincare invariant dynamical equation for 4-component spinor wavefunctions. New Poincare invariant generalized Dirac and Klein-Gordon equations are also derived. In the non-relativistic limit the generalized Dirac equation gives the generalized Levy-Leblond equation and the generalized Pauli-Schrodinger equation. The main difference between the original and generalized Dirac equations is that the former and latter are obtained with zero and nonzero phase functions, respectively. Otherwise, bot…
Based on the principle of relativity with two universal constants (c, l) and in the inertial motion group IM(1,3)\sim PGL(5,R), with Lorentz isotropy, in addition to Poincaré group of Einstein's SR the dual Poincaré group preserves the origin lightcone and its space/time-like region R_\pm appeared at common origin of intersected Minkowski/dS/AdS space. The dual Poincare kinematics is on a pair of degenerate Einstein manifolds with Λ_\pm=\pm3l^{-2} for R_\pm, respectively. Thus, there is a Poincaré double and the dS double for dS/AdS SR. Further, with other four doubles they form a relativistic…
The velocity basis of the Poincare group is used in the direct product space of two irreducible unitary representations of the Poincare group. The velocity basis with total angular momentum j will be used for the definition of relativistic Gamow vectors.
The original intent of the Koopman-von Neumann formalism was to put classical and quantum mechanics on the same footing by introducing an operator formalism into classical mechanics. Here we pursue their path the opposite way and examine what transfer operators can say about quantum mechanical evolution. To that end, we introduce a physically motivated scalar wavefunction formalism for a velocity field on a 4-dimensional pseudo-Riemannian manifold, and obtain an evolution equation for the associated wavefunction, a generator for an associated weighted transfer operator. The generator of the sc…
We introduce a complex relativistic phase space as the space $\mathbb{C}^4$ equipped with the Minkowski metric and with a geometric tri-product on it. The geometric tri-product is similar to the triple product of the bounded symmetric domain of type IV in Cartan's classification, called the spin domain. We define a spin 1 representations of the Lie algebra of the Poincaré group by natural operators of this tri-product on the complex relativistic phase space. This representation is connected with the electromagnetic tensor. A spin 1/2 representation on the complex relativistic phase space is co…
Though the irreducible representations of the Poincare' group form the groundwork for the formulation of relativistic quantum theories of a particle, robust classes of such representations are missed in current formulations of these theories. In this work the extended class of irreducible representations with positive `mass' parameter is explicitly determined. Several new representations in such extension, so far excluded, give rise to consistent theories for Klein-Gordon particles and also to new species of particle theories.
Gamow vectors are generalized eigenvectors (kets) of self-adjoint Hamiltonians with complex eigenvalues $(E_{R}\mp iΓ/2)$ describing quasistable states. In the relativistic domain this leads to Poincaré semigroup representations which are characterized by spin $j$ and by complex invariant mass square ${\mathsf{s}}={\mathsf{s}}_{R}=(M_{R}-\frac{i}{2}Γ_{R})^{2}$. Relativistic Gamow kets have all the properties required to describe relativistic resonances and quasistable particles with resonance mass $M_{R}$ and lifetime $\hbar/Γ_{R}$.
The Lorentz covariance of a non-linear, time-dependent relativistic wave equation is demonstrated; the equation has recently been shown to have highly interesting and significant empirical consequences. It is established here that an operator already exists which ensures the relativistic properties of the equation. Furthermore, we show that the time-dependent equation is gauge invariant. The equation however, breaks Poincare symmetry via time translation in a way consistent with its physical interpretation. It is also shown herein that the Casimir invariant PmuPmu of the Poincare group, which …
The nonrelativistic limit of the centrally extended Poincaré group is considered and their consequences in the modal Hamiltonian interpretation of quantum mechanics are discussed [ O. Lombardi and M. Castagnino, Stud. Hist. Philos. Mod. Phys 39, 380 (2008) ; J. Phys, Conf. Ser. 128, 012014 (2008) ]. Through the assumption that in quantum field theory the Casimir operators of the Poincaré group actualize, the nonrelativistic limit of the latter group yields to the actualization of the Casimir operators of the Galilei group, which is in agreement with the actualization rule of previous versions …
It is shown that the symmetry under parity of the wavefunctions of two identical particles with an arbitrary spin $s$ in three spatial dimensions accounts for the appropriate wavefunction exchange statistics under the permutations of particles. The standard properties of the angular momentum in non-relativistic quantum mechanics account for the sign factor $(-1)^{2s}$ that the wavefunctions acquire under the permutation of coordinates of the two particles, without any additional requirements, directly relating spin and the particle exchange statistics in the non-relativistic context.
A relativistic resonance which was defined by a pole of the $S$-matrix, or by a relativistic Breit-Wigner line shape, is represented by a generalized state vector (ket) which can be obtained by analytic extension of the relativistic Lippmann-Schwinger kets. These Gamow kets span an irreducible representation space for Poincaré transformations which, similar to the Wigner representations for stable particles, are characterized by spin (angular momentum of the partial wave amplitude) and complex mass (position of the resonance pole). The Poincaré transformations of the Gamow kets, as well as of …
Relativistic invariance in Euclidean formulations of quantum mechanics is discussed. Relativistic treatments of quantum theory are needed to study hadronic systems at sub-hadronic distance scales. Euclidean formulations of relativistic quantum mechanics have some computational advantages. In the Euclidean representation the physical Hilbert space inner product is expressed in terms of Euclidean space-time variables with no need for any analytic continuation. The identification of the complex Euclidean group with the complex Poincaré group relates the infinitesimal generators of both groups. In…
While internal space-time symmetries of relativistic particles are dictated by the little groups of the Poincaré group, it is possible to construct representations of the little group for massive particles starting from harmonic oscillator wave functions for the quark model. The resulting oscillator wave functions are covariant and can be Lorentz-boosted. It is thus possible to obtain the parton model by boosting the quark model. A review of Wigner's theory of the little groups is given. It is shown that the covariant oscillator wave functions become squeezed as as the system becomes boosted. …
The algebraic approach to quantum mechanics has been vital to the development of quantum theory since its inception, and it has evolved into a mathematically rigorous $C^\ast$-algebraic formulation of the theory's axioms. Conversely, the functional approach in the form of Feynman path integrals is far from mathematically rigorous: Nevertheless, path integrals provide an equally valid and useful formulation of the axioms of quantum mechanics. The two approaches can be merged by employing a notion of functional integration based on topological groups that allows to construct functional integral …
In this paper a generalized form of relativistic dynamics is presented: A realization of the Poincaré algebra is provided in terms of vector fields on the tangent bundle of a simultaneity surface in $\mathbb{R}^4$. The construction of this realization is explicitly shown to clarify the role of the commutation relations of the Poincaré algebra versus their description in terms of Poisson brackets in the no-interaction theorem. Moreover, a geometrical analysis of the ``eleventh generator'' formalism introduced by Sudarshan and Mukunda is outlined, this formalism being at the basis of many propos…
We show that the relativistic analogue of the two types of time translation in a non-relativistic history theory is the existence of two distinct Poincaré groups. The `internal' Poincaré group is analogous to the one that arises in the standard canonical quantisation scheme; the `external' Poincaré group is similar to the group that arises in a Lagrangian description of the standard theory. In particular, it performs explicit changes of the spacetime foliation that is implicitly assumed in standard canonical field theory.
Based on a recent classification of coadjoint orbits of the full Poincaré group, we give a new group theoretic interpretation for the mass of a classical relativistic particle.
A construction of relativistic wave equations on the homogeneous spaces of the Poincaré group is given for arbitrary spin chains. Parametrizations of the field functions and harmonic analysis on the homogeneous spaces are studied. It is shown that a direct product of Minkowski spacetime and two-dimensional complex sphere is the most suitable homogeneous space for the physical applications. The Lagrangian formalism and field equations on the Poincaré and Lorentz groups are considered. A boundary value problem for the relativistically invariant system is defined. General solutions of this proble…
We discussed quantum deformations of D=4 Lorentz and Poincare algebras. In the case of Poincare algebra it is shown that almost all classical r-matrices of S. Zakrzewski classification correspond to twisted deformations of Abelian and Jordanian types. A part of twists corresponding to the r-matrices of Zakrzewski classification are given in explicit form.
A general technique is presented for constructing a quantum theory of a finite number of interacting particles satisfying Poincaré invariance, cluster separability, and the spectral condition. Irreducible representations and Clebsch-Gordan coefficients of the Poincaré group are the central elements of the construction. A different realization of the dynamics is obtained for each basis of an irreducible representation of the Poincaré group. Unitary operators that relate the different realizations of the dynamis are constructed. This technique is distinguished from other solutions of this proble…
The unification of electricity and magnetism achieved by special relativity has remained for decades a model of unification in theoretical physics. We discuss the relationship between electric and magnetic fields from a classical point of view, and then examine how the four main relevant authors (Lorentz, Poincaré, Einstein, Minkowski) dealt with the problem of establishing the transformation laws of the fields in different inertial systems. We argue that Poincaré's derivation of the transformation laws for the potentials and the fields was definitely less arbitrary than those of the other cit…
When utilizing a cluster decomposible relativistic scattering formalism, it is most convenient that the covariant field equations take on a linear form with respect to the energy and momentum dispersion on the fields in the manner given by the Dirac form for spin ${1 \over 2}$ systems. The general spinor formulation for arbitrary spins given in a previous paper is extended to include momentum operators. Unitary quantum mechanical representations are developed for these operators, and physical interpretations are suggested.
We present the consistent approach to finding the discrete transformations in the representation spaces of the proper Poincaré group. To this end we use the possibility to establish a correspondence between involutory automorphisms of the proper Poincaré group and the discrete transformations. As a result, we derive rules of the discrete transformations for arbitrary spin-tensor fields without the use of relativistic wave equations. Besides, we construct explicitly fields carrying representations of the extended Poincaré group, which includes the discrete transformations as well.
We prove that the extended Poincare group in (1+1) dimensions is non-nilpotent solvable exponential, and therefore that it belongs to type I. We determine its first and second cohomology groups in order to work out a classification of the two-dimensional relativistic elementary systems. Moreover, all irreducible unitary representations of the extended Poincare group are constructed by the orbit method. The most physically interesting class of irreducible representations corresponds to the anomaly-free relativistic particle in (1+1) dimensions, which cannot be fully quantized. However, we show …
Relativistic resonances and decaying states are described by representations of Poincaré transformations, similar to Wigner's definition of stable particles. To associate decaying state vectors to resonance poles of the $S$-matrix, the conventional Hilbert space assumption (or asymptotic completeness) is replaced by a new hypothesis that associates different dense Hardy subspaces to the in- and out-scattering states. Then one can separate the scattering amplitude into a background amplitude and one or several ``relativistic Breit-Wigner'' amplitudes, which represent the resonances per se. Thes…
We consider a relativistic charged particle in a background scalar field depending on both space and time. Poincaré, dilation and special conformal symmetries of the field generate conserved quantities in the charge motion, and we exploit this to generate examples of superintegrable relativistic systems. We also show that the corresponding single-particle wavefunctions needed for the quantum scattering problem can be found exactly, by solving the Klein-Gordon equation.
Born proposed a unification of special relativity and quantum mechanics that placed position, time, energy and momentum on equal footing through a reciprocity principle and extended the usual position-time and energy-momentum line elements to this space by combining them through a new fundamental constant. Requiring also invariance of the symplectic metric yields U(1,3) as the invariance group, the inhomogeneous counterpart of which is the canonically relativistic group CR(1,3) = U(1,3) *s H(1,3) where H(1,3) is the Heisenberg Group in 4 dimensions and "*s" is the semidirect product. This is t…
Viewing gravitational energy-momentum $p_G^μ$ as equal by observation, but different in essence from inertial energy-momentum $p_I^μ$ naturally leads to the gauge theory of volume-preserving diffeormorphisms of an inner Minkowski space ${\bf M}^{\sl 4}$. To extract its physical content the full gauge group is reduced to its Poincaré subgroup. The respective Poincaré gauge fields, field strengths and Poincaré-covariant field equations are obtained and point-particle source currents are derived. The resulting set of non-linear field equations coupled to point matter is solved in first order resu…
Recent work showed that $κ$-deformations can describe the quantum deformation of several relativistic models that have been proposed in the context of quantum gravity phenomenology. Starting from the Poincaré algebra of special-relativistic symmetries, one can toggle the curvature parameter $Λ$, the Planck scale quantum deformation parameter $κ$ and the speed of light parameter $c$ to move to the well-studied $κ$-Poincaré algebra, the (quantum) (A)dS algebra, the (quantum) Galilei and Carroll algebras and their curved versions. In this review, we survey the properties and relations of these al…
The capabilities of some approaches to the relativistic description of hadronic states with any rest spin are analysed. The key feature in the Wigner's construction of irreducible representations of the Poincare group which makes this construction fruitless in the particle physics is picked out. A realization of unitary irreducible representations of the Poincare group of the standard type, which yet have never been considered, is discussed. The viability of the description of hadrons by the Poincare group representations of the standard type in the space of the infinite-component ISFIR-class …
The derivation of the non-relativistic Cosserat equations that was described in Part I of this series of papers is extended from the group of rigid motions in three-dimensional Euclidian space to the Poincaré group of four-dimensional Minkowski space. Examples of relativistic Cosserat media are then given in the form of the free Dirac electron and the Weyssenhoff fluid.
The way to obtain massive non-relativistic states from the Poincare algebra is twofold. First, following Inonu and Wigner the Poincare algebra has to be contracted to the Galilean one. Second, the Galilean algebra is to be extended to include the central mass operator. We show that the central extension might be properly encoded in the non-relativistic contraction. In fact, any Inonu-Wigner contraction of one algebra to another, corresponds to an infinite tower of abelian extensions of the latter. The proposed method is straightforward and holds for both central and non-central extensions. Apa…
We propose a fibre bundle formulation of the mathematical base of relativistic quantum mechanics. At the present stage the bundle form of the theory is equivalent to its conventional one, but it admits new types of generalizations in different directions. In the present, second, part of our investigation, we consider a covariant approach to bundle description of relativistic quantum mechanics. In it the wavefunctions are replaced with (state) sections of a suitably chosen vector bundle over space-time whose (standard) fibre is the space of the wavefunctions. Now the quantum evolution is descri…
We extend some results of group representation theory and von Neumann algebras to the quaternionic Hilbert space case, proving the double commutant theorem (whose quaternionic proof requires a different procedure) and extend to the quaternionic case a result concerning the classification of irreducible von Neumann algebras. Secondly, we consider elementary relativistic systems in Wigner's view defined as a locally-faithful irreducible strongly-continuous unitary representation of Poincaré group in quaternionic Hilbert space. We prove that, if the squared-mass operator is non-negative, the syst…
We propose a fibre bundle formulation of the mathematical base of relativistic quantum mechanics. At the present stage the bundle form of the theory is equivalent to its conventional one, but it admits new types of generalizations in different directions. In the bundle description the wavefunctions are replaced with (state) sections (covariant approach) or liftings of paths (equivalently: sections along paths) (time-dependent approach) of a suitably chosen vector bundle over space-time whose (standard) fibre is the space of the wavefunctions. Now the quantum evolution is described as a linear …
In Ukrain. J. Phys., 1967, V.12, N 5, p.741-746 it was shown how, for a given (discrete) mass spectrum of elementary or hypothetical particles, it was possible to construct a non-trivial algebra G containing a Poincare algebra P as a subalgebra so that the mass operator, defined throughout the space where one of the irreducible representations G is given, is self-conjugate and its spectrum coincides with the given mass spectrum. Such an algebra was constructed in explicit form for the nonrelativistic case, i.e., the generators were written for the algebra. However, the problem of how to assign…
We interpret, in the realm of relativistic quantum field theory, the tangential operator given by Coleman, Mandula as an appropriate coordinate operator. The investigation shows that the operator generates a Snyder-like noncommutative spacetime with a minimal length that is given by the mass. By using this operator to define a noncommutative spacetime, we obtain a Poincaré invariant noncommutative spacetime and in addition solve the soccer-ball problem. Moreover, from recent progress in deformation theory we extract the idea how to obtain, in a physical and mathematical well-defined manner, an…
