An algebraic geometric foundation for a classification of second-order superintegrable systems in arbitrary dimension (Q6077308)

The aim of this paper is to establish the foundations for a complete classification of second-order superintegrable systems. The authors propose to approach the classification of superintegrable systems by studying the geometry of the classification space. Second-order (maximally) superintegrable systems in dimensions two and three are essentially classified. With increasing dimension, however, the non-linear partial differential equations employed in current methods become unmanageable. Here the authors propose a new, algebraic-geometric approach to the classification problem based on a proof that the classification space for irreducible non-degenerate second-order superintegrable systems is naturally endowed with the structure of a quasi-projective variety with a linear isometry action. On constant curvature manifolds their approach leads to a single, simple and explicit algebraic equation defining the variety classifying those superintegrable hamiltonians that satisfy all relevant integrability conditions generically. In particular, this includes all non-degenerate superintegrable systems known to date and shows that their approach is manageable in arbitrary dimension. In analogy to the Schrödinger Equation, which provides the basis for a systematic mathematical description of chemical elements and their properties, the authors establish a single, simple algebraic equation defining these varieties, which provides the basis for a systematic algebraic-geometric description of special functions and their properties. They establish the foundation for a complete classification of second-order superintegrable systems in arbitrary dimension, derived from the geometry of the classification space, with many potential applications to related structures such as quadratic symmetry algebras and special functions. This paper consists of the following sections: Section 1 is an introduction to the subject and statement of results. Section 2 deals with some preliminaries. After briefly reviewing theory, terminology and notation in this section, the authors introduce the pivotal object of their approach in Section 3. A valence three tensor field encoding all relevant information about a superintegrable system, called the structure tensor. Sections 4 and 5 are devoted to the integrability conditions that superintegrability imposes on this tensor. The first main statement is proven in Section 6, namely that a properly defined classification space forms a quasi-projective variety. In Section 7 they derive explicit algebraic equations for a related variety on constant curvature spaces. Finally, in Section 8 the known \(n\)-dimensional families of superintegrable systems on constant curvature spaces are reviewed from the point of view developed in this paper.