Semidirect products and the Pukanszky condition (Q1299136): Difference between revisions

Consider a Lie group \(G=K\times_\rho V\), the semidirect product of a Lie group \(K\) and a representation \(\rho:K\to GL(V)\) of this group on a vector space \(V\). The author analyzes the geometrical structure of coadjoint orbits \({\mathcal O}^G_\nu\) of elements \(\nu=(f,p)\in{\mathfrak g}^*={\mathfrak k}^*+V^*\), where \(*\) denotes duality and \({\mathfrak g},{\mathfrak k}\) are the Lie algebras of \(G\) and \(K\), respectively. In particular, use is made of the properties of isotropy subgroups of \(G\) and \(K\) with respect to the coadjoint action, which appear in a short exact sequence. The results derived amount to a reduction of the problems for \(G\) to the corresponding ones of the homogeneous part \(K\), generalizing the use of ``little'' groups (which are isotropy subgroups of the homogeneous part) for classifying the coadjoint orbits of \(G\). In particular, these orbits can be obtained by symplectic induction on coadjoint orbits of subgroups of \(K\). As a main result of the paper it is shown that the Pukanszky condition [see \textit{L. Pukanszky}, Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 126, 487-507 (1967; Zbl 0207.33605)] for a special class of polarizations of \(G\) is equivalent to the same condition for the associated polarization \({\mathfrak h}\) of \(K\) with respect to \(\nu\). Here \({\mathfrak h}\) is a complex Lie subalgebra of \({\mathfrak g}^c\), the complexification of \({\mathfrak g}\), satisfying certain conditions. One then has two real subalgebras \({\mathfrak d}\subset{\mathfrak e}\) and subsets \(D=D_0\cdot G_\nu\subset E=E_0\cdot G_\nu\) with \(D_0\subset E_0\) the connected Lie subgroups of \(G\) whose Lie algebras are \({\mathfrak d}\) and \({\mathfrak e}\), respectively. Then the coadjoint orbit \({\mathcal O}^G_\nu\) is simplectomorphic to a symplectic subbundle of a modified cotangent bundle \(T^\sharp(G/D)\). These concepts are applied to three semidirect product groups, important for the nonrelativistic particle dynamics: the special Euclidean group \(SE(3)\), the Galilei group of space-time \(SE(3)\times {_\rho\mathbb{R}^4}\) and the Bargmann group \(SE(3)\times{_\rho\mathbb{R}^5}\), each one for the appropriate representation \(\rho\) involved.