MecanicaClassica PG Aula13 MBGD
MecanicaClassica PG Aula13 MBGD
MecanicaClassica PG Aula13 MBGD
April 2021
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Symmetry Groups of Mechanical Systems
The elements Q(θi ), of the associated Lie group are related to the
elements of the Lie Algebra by
i
Q(θi ) = exp( θi ui ). (9.130)
2
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Symmetry Groups of Mechanical Systems (cont.)
[σi , σj ] = 2iσk ,
For SO(3), then, the structure constant is cijk = 2ijk . Also σi2 = 1 is
the unit 2 × 2 matrix.
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Symmetry Groups of Mechanical Systems (cont.)
The Euler angles can be used as parameters that generate the group
elements. For a rotation in the y − z plane, for example, we have
cos 2θ isin 2θ
θ θ
Q(θ) = 1cos + iσx sin = .
2 2 θ θ
isin 2 cos 2
The last has the same properties as the group of the associated
infinitesimal canonical transformations (I.C.T.).
The Lie Groups of I.C.T’s are known as the symmetry groups of the
system, for such transformations leave the Hamiltonian invariant.
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Symmetry Groups of Mechanical Systems (cont.)
Finding the symmetry groups of the system goes a long way towards
solving it’s classical motion and even closer to a solution of the
quantum-mechanical problem.
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Symmetry Groups of Mechanical Systems (cont.)
The relation [Li , Lj ] = ijk Lk shows that the structure constants are
cijk = ijk and it’s this relationship that stamps the group as being
the rotation group in three dimensions.
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The Bound Kepler Problem
For that problem, together with L, there exists another conserved
quantity A, the Laplace-Runge-Lenz vector, defined by
mkr
A=p×L− . (3.82)
r
Since A qualifies as a system vector, we have
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The Bound Kepler Problem (cont.)
Introducing
A A
D= √ ≡p , (9.133)
−2mE 2m|E |
then the components of D satisfy
[D1 , D2 ] = L3 .
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The Bound Kepler Problem (cont.)
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The Bound Kepler Problem (cont.)
Explicitly said generators are given by:
0 0 0 0 0 1 0 −1 0
M1 = 0 0 −1 , cuM2 = 0 0 0 , cuM3 = 1 0 0 ,
0 1 0 −1 0 0 0 0 0
except that there are added zeroes in the zeroth row and column.
PS.: The fact that the symmetry group involves a space of higher
dimension than ordinary space has nothing to do with special relativity,
but is due to the fact that the symmetry we seek here is one in the
six-dimensional phase space.
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Two Dimensional Isotropic Harmonic Oscillator (cont.)
Of the three distinct elements of the tensor, the diagonal terms may
be identified as the energies associated with the separate
two-dimensional motions along x and y axis, respectively. As there is
no coupling between the two motions, these energies must separately
be constant.
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Two Dimensional Isotropic Harmonic Oscillator (cont.)
In relation to the separate x and y motions, A11 and A22 are related
to the amplitudes of the oscillations, whereas A12 is determined by
the phase difference between the two vibrations.
The trace of the A tensor is the total energy of the harmonic oscillator.
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Two Dimensional Isotropic Harmonic Oscillator (cont.)
Out of the elements of the matrix, we have two other constants of
motion:
A12 + A21 1
S1 = = (px py + m2 ω 2 xy ), (9.144)
2ω 2mω
and
A22 − A11 1
S2 = = (p 2 − px2 + m2 ω 2 (y 2 − x 2 )), (9.145)
2ω 4mω y
To these we may add a third constant of motion from eq. 9.140:
L 1
S3 = = (xpy − ypx ). (9.146)
2 2
The quantities Si plus H form four constants of motion not involving
time explicitly.
H2
S12 + S22 + S32 = . (9.147)
4ω 2
We can verify that
[Si , Sj ] = ijk Sk . (9.148)
These are the same relations as for the three dimensional angular
momentum vector, thus the group transformation generated by Si
may be identified as SO(3).
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Two Dimensional Isotropic Harmonic Oscillator (cont.)
There is an isomorphism between SO(3) and SU(2). It turns out
SU(2) here is more appropriate.
Note that eq. 9.147 suggests there is a three dimensional space, each
point of which corresponds to a particular set of orbital parameters.
For a given system energy, 9.147 says the orbit "points"in this space
lie on a sphere. The constants Si generate three-dimensional rotations
on this sphere; that is, they change the orbit into another orbit having
the same energy.
For higher dimensions, the structure constants for the Lie Algebras
of SO(n) and SU(n) are no longer identical and a clear separation
between the two can be made.
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Liouville’s Theorem
While the the exact motion of any system is completely determined in
classical mechanics by the initial conditions, it is often impracticable
to calculate an exact solution for complex systems.
In addition, the initial conditions are often only incompletely known.
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Liouville’s Theorem (cont)
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Liouville’s Theorem (cont)
Consider an infinitesimal volume in phase space surrounding a given
system point, with the boundary of the volume formed by some
surface of neighboring system points at the time t = 0.
In the course of time, the system points defining the volume move
about in phase space, and the volume contained by them will take
on different shapes as time progresses (see fig. 1).
As a consequence,
dN
D=
dV
must also be constant in time, that is,
dD
= 0,
dt
which proves Liouville’s theorem.
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Liouville’s Theorem (cont)
[D, H] = 0.
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Liouville’s Theorem (cont)
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