The concept of the Schwinger Representation of a finite or compact simple Lie group is set up as a multiplicity-free direct sum of all the unitary irreducible representations of the group. This is abstracted from the properties of the Schwinger oscillator construction for SU(2), and its relevance in several quantum mechanical contexts is highlighted. The Schwinger representations for $SU(2), SO(3)$ and SU(n) for all $n$ are constructed via specific carrier spaces and group actions. In the SU(2) case connections to the oscillator construction and to Majorana's theorem on pure states for any spin are worked out. The role of the Schwinger Representation in setting up the Wigner-Weyl isomorphism for quantum mechanics on a compact simple Lie group is brought out.
The Schwinger oscillator operator representation of SU(3) is analysed with particular reference to the problem of multiplicity of irreducible representations. It is shown that with the use of an $Sp(2,R)$ unitary representation commuting with the SU(3) representation, the infinity of occurrences of each SU(3) irreducible representation can be handled in complete detail. A natural `generating representation' for SU(3), containing each irreducible representation exactly once, is identified within a subspace of the Schwinger construction; and this is shown to be equivalent to an induced represent…
The non-standard Schwinger fermionic representation of the unitary group is studied by using $n$-fermion operators. One finds that the Schwinger fermionic representation of the U(n) group is not unique when $n\ge 3$. In general, based on $n$-fermion operators, the non-standard Schwinger fermionic representation of the U(n) group can be established in a uniform approach, where all the generators commute with the total number operators. The Schwinger fermionic representation of $U(C^{m}_{n})$ group is also discussed.
We give two explicit construction for the carrier space for the Schwinger representation of the group $S_n$. While the first relies on a class of functions consisting of monomials in antisymmetric variables, the second is based on the Fock space associated with the Greenberg algebra.
The Schwinger oscillator operator representation of SU(3), studied in a previous paper from the representation theory point of view, is analysed to discuss the intimate relationships between standard oscillator coherent state systems and systems of SU(3) coherent states. Both SU(3) standard coherent states, based on choice of highest weight vector as fiducial vector, and certain other specific systems of generalised coherent states, are found to be relevant. A complete analysis is presented, covering all the oscillator coherent states without exception, and amounting to SU(3) harmonic analysis…
Quantum entanglement is the characteristic quantum correlation. Here we use this concept to analyze the quantum entanglement generated by Schwinger production of particle-antiparticle pairs in an electric field, as well as the change of mode entanglement as a consequence of the electric field effect on an entangled pair of particles. The system is partitioned by using momentum modes. Various kinds of pairwise mode entanglement are calculated as functions of the electric field. Both constant and pulsed electric fields are considered. The use of entanglement exposes information beyond that in pa…
The direct and indirect Lagrangian representations of the planar harmonic oscillator have been discussed. The reduction of these Lagrangians in their basic forms characterising either chiral, or pseudo - chiral oscillators have been given. A Hamiltonian analysis, showing its equivalence with the Lagrangian formalism has also been provided. Finally, we show that the chiral and pseudo - chiral modes act as dynamical structures behind the Jordan - Schwinger realizations of the SU(2) and SU(1,1) algebras. Also, the SU(1,1) construction found here is different from the standard Jordan - Schwinger f…
We examine, in a quantum mechanical setting, the Hilbert space representation of the BRST symmetry associated with Schwinger-Keldysh path integrals. This structure had been postulated to encode important constraints on influence functionals in coarse-grained systems with dissipation, or in open quantum systems. Operationally, this entails uplifting the standard Schwinger-Keldysh two-copy formalism into superspace by appending BRST ghost degrees of freedom. These statements were previously argued at the level of the correlation functions. We provide herein a complementary perspective by working…
In this short letter we review Schwinger's formulation of Quantum Mechanics and we argue that the mathematical structure behind Schwinger's "Symbolism of Atomic Measurements" is that of a groupoid. In this framework, both the Hilbert space (Schrödinger picture) and the $C^{*}$-algebra (Heisenberg picture) of the system turn out to be derived concepts, that is, they arise from the underlying groupoid structure.
Starting from the earlier notions of stationary action principles, we show how Julian Schwinger's Quantum Action Principle descended from Dirac's formulation, which independently led Feynman to his path-integral formulation of quantum mechanics. The connection between the two is brought out, and applications are discussed. The Keldysh-Schwinger time-cycle method of extracting matrix elements in nonequilibrium situations is described. The variational formulation of quantum field theory and the development of source theory constitute the latter part of this work. In this document, derived from S…
Schwinger's finite (D) dimensional periodic Hilbert space representations are studied on the toroidal lattice ${\ee Z}_{D} \times {\ee Z}_{D}$ with specific emphasis on the deformed oscillator subalgebras and the generalized representations of the Wigner function. These subalgebras are shown to be admissible endowed with the non-negative norm of Hilbert space vectors. Hence, they provide the desired canonical basis for the algebraic formulation of the quantum phase problem. Certain equivalence classes in the space of labels are identified within each subalgebra, and connections with area-prese…
In this paper we will present tha main features of what can be called Schwinger's foundational approach to Quantum Mechanics. The basic ingredients of this formulation are the \textit{selective measurements}, whose algebraic composition rules define a mathematical structure called groupoid, which is associated with any physical system. After the introduction of the basic axioms of a groupoid, the concepts of observables and states, statistical interpretation and evolution are derived. An example is finally introduced to support the theoretical description of this approach.
A new picture of Quantum Mechanics based on the theory of groupoids is presented. This picture provides the mathematical background for Schwinger's algebra of selective measurements and helps to understand its scope and eventual applications. In this first paper, the kinematical background is described using elementary notions from category theory, in particular the notion of 2-groupoids as well as their representations. Some basic results are presented, and the relation with the standard Dirac-Schrödinger and Born-Jordan-Heisenberg pictures are succinctly discussed.
Fradkin's representation is a general method of attacking problems in quantum field theory, having as its basis the functional approach of Schwinger. As a pedagogical illustration of that method, we explicitly formulate it for quantum mechanics (field theory in one dimension) and apply it to the solution of Schrodinger's equation for the quantum harmonic oscillator.
We present a non-equilibrium quantum field theory approach to the initial-state dynamics of spin models based on two-particle irreducible (2PI) functional integral techniques. It employs a mapping of spins to Schwinger bosons for arbitrary spin interactions and spin lengths. At next-to-leading order (NLO) in an expansion in the number of field components, a wide range of non-perturbative dynamical phenomena are shown to be captured, including relaxation of magnetizations in a 3D long-range interacting system with quenched disorder, different relaxation behaviour on both sides of a quantum phas…
From Discrete to Continuous-Variable Systems via Jordan-Schwinger Tomographic Transformation
Universiteit Leiden(莱顿大学);Applied Quantum Algorithms Leiden(莱顿应用量子算法);Russian Quantum Center(俄罗斯量子中心);Lomonosov Moscow State University(莫斯科罗蒙诺索夫国立大学);Lebedev Physical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences(俄罗斯科学院列别杰夫物理研究所)
Many useful concepts for a quantum theory of scattering and decay (like Lippmann-Schwinger kets, purely outgoing boundary conditions, exponentially decaying Gamow vectors, causality) are not well defined in the mathematical frame set by the conventional (Hilbert space) axioms of quantum mechanics. Using the Lippmann-Schwinger equations as the takeoff point and aiming for a theory that unites resonances and decay, we conjecture a new axiom for quantum mechanics that distinguishes mathematically between prepared states and detected observables. Suggested by the two signs $\pm iε$ of the Lippmann…
We propose to address in a natural manner, the modular variable concept explicitly in a Schrödinger picture. The idea of Modular Variables was introduced in 1969 by Aharonov, Pendleton and Petersen to explain certain non-local properties of quantum mechanics. Our approach to this subject is based on Schwinger's finite quantum kinematics and it's continuous limit.
Accidental Symmetry in the Tavis-Cummings Model via the Schwinger Boson Representation
Duke Quantum Center and Department of Physics, Duke University(杜克大学量子中心与物理系);Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Duke University(杜克大学电气与计算机工程系)
Schwinger pair production in spatially and temporally inhomogeneous electric and magnetic fields is studied. The focus is on the particle phase-space distribution within a high-intensity few-cycle pulse. Accurate numerical solutions of a quantum kinetic theory (DHW formalism) are presented in momentum space and, with the aid of coarse-graining techniques, in a mixed spatial-momentum representation. Additionally, signatures of the carrier-envelope phase as well as spin-field interactions are discussed on the basis of a trajectory-based model taking into account instantaneous pair production and…
The most realistic situations in quantum mechanics involve the interaction between two or more systems. In the most of reliable models, the form and structure of the interactions generate differential equations which are, in the most of cases, almost impossible to solve exactly. In this paper, using the Schwinger Quantum Action Principle, we found the time transformation function that solves exactly the harmonic oscillator interacting with a set of other harmonic coupled oscillators. In order to do it, we have introduced a new special set of creation and annihilation operators which leads dire…
A simple approach for understanding the quantum nature of angular momentum and its reduction to the classical limit is presented based on Schwinger's coupled-boson representation. This approach leads to a straightforward explanation of why the square of the angular momentum in quantum mechanics is given by j(j+1) instead of just j^2, where j is the angular momentum quantum number.
The Schwinger's representation of angular momentum(AM) relates two important fundamental models, that of AM and that of harmonic oscillator(HO). However, the representation offers only the relations of operators but not states. Here, by developing a graphic method to calculate the states, we show that the Schwinger's model is valid only with certain spin. With the relation of states, we also demonstrate how the superposition states in AM map to entangled states in HO. This study has promising applications in quantum computation, and may cast light on the relation between superposition and enta…
We study the ground-state properties of a class of $\mathbb{Z}_n$ lattice gauge theories in 1 + 1 dimensions, in which the gauge fields are coupled to spinless fermionic matter. These models, stemming from discrete representations of the Weyl commutator for the $\mathrm{U}(1)$ group, preserve the unitary character of the minimal coupling, and have therefore the property of formally approximating lattice quantum electrodynamics in one spatial dimension in the large-$n$ limit. The numerical study of such approximated theories is important to determine their effectiveness in reproducing the main …
Here we deal in a pedagogical way with an approach to construct an algebraic structure for the Quantum Mechanical measurement processes from the concept of \emph{Measurement Symbol}. Such concept was conceived by Julian S. Schwinger and constitutes a fundamental piece in his variational formalism and its several applications.