Topological decompositions of the Pauli group and their influence on dynamical systems

DOI10.1007/S11040-021-09387-1MaRDI QIDQ2046708zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors Fabio Bagarello, Yanga Bavuma, Francesco Russo

Publication date 18 August 2021

Published in Mathematical Physics, Analysis and Geometry (Search for Journal in Brave)

Copyright license Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/2104.02354

zbMATH Keywords

actions of groups central products Hamiltonians Pauli groups pseudo-fermions

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Applications of Lie groups to the sciences; explicit representations (22E70) Topological methods in group theory (57M07) Group actions on manifolds and cell complexes in low dimensions (57M60) Finite-dimensional groups and algebras motivated by physics and their representations (81R05)

Abstract: In the present paper we show that it is possible to obtain the well known Pauli group

P = l a n g l e X, Y, Z | X^{2} = Y^{2} = Z^{2} = 1, (Y Z)^{4} = (Z X)^{4} = (X Y)^{4} = 1 a n g l e

of order

16

as an appropriate quotient group of two distinct spaces of orbits of the three dimensional sphere

S^{3}

. The first of these spaces of orbits is realized via an action of the quaternion group

Q_{8}

on

S^{3}

; the second one via an action of the cyclic group of order four

m a t h b b Z (4)

on

S^{3}

. We deduce a result of decomposition of

P

of topological nature and then we find, in connection with the theory of pseudo-fermions, a possible physical interpretation of this decomposition.

Review text

In this article, we will see that it is possible to realize a manifold which has the Pauli group \(P = \langle X, Y, Z \mid X^2 = Y^2 = Z^2 = 1, (YZ)^4 = (ZX)^4 = (XY)^4 = 1 \rangle\) as its fundamental group. The Pauli group \(P\) is a group of order \(16\) introduced by [\textit{W. Pauli jun.}, Z. Phys. 43, 601--623 (1927; JFM 53.0858.02)]. Specific expressions of the three generators are: \[ X = \begin{bmatrix} 0&1 \\ 1&0 \end{bmatrix}, \ Y = \begin{bmatrix} 0&-i\\ i&0 \end{bmatrix}\text{ and } Z = \begin{bmatrix} 1&0\\ 0&-1 \end{bmatrix}. \] It is easy to check that \(X^2 = Y^2 = Z^2 = I\), where \(I\) is the identity matrix. The authors' main result is the theorem below. Note that \(S^3\) indicates the three-sphere. Further, the quaternion group and a cyclic group of order four, denoted by \(\mathbb Q_8\) and \(\mathbb Z_4\) respectively, operate on \(S^3\). Both finite actions are isometries on \(S^3\), hence the quotient spaces \(U = S^3/Q_8\) and \(V = S^3/\mathbb Z_4\) are both elliptic three-manifolds. More specifically, \(U\) is a quaternion manifold which is a family of the prism manifolds and \(V\) is a lens space \(L(4, 1)\). Theorem. There exist two compact path connected quotient spaces \(U = S^3/Q_8\) and \(V = S^3/\mathbb Z_4\) such that the following conditions are true: \begin{itemize} \item[1.] \(U \cup V\) is a compact path connected space with \(U \cap V \neq \emptyset\), \(\pi_1(U \cap V) \cong \mathbb Z_2\) and \(P \cong \pi_1(U \cup V) / N\) for some normal subgroup \(N\) of \(\pi_1(U \cup V)\). \item[2.] \(U \# V\) is a Riemannian manifold of \(dim(U \# V) = 3\) and \(P \cong \pi_1(U \# V) / L\) for some normal subgroup \(L\) of \(\pi_1(U \# V)\), where \(\#\) denotes the usual connected sum of manifolds. \end{itemize} In the first statement, the familiar assumptions of the Seifert and van Kampen Theorem are satisfied. For example, [\textit{C. Kosniowski}, A first course in algebraic topology. (1980; Zbl 0441.55001), Chapter 23] is a handy reference source regarding the theorem we are using here. In fact, its proof is a repeated use of the Seifert and van Kampen Theorem involving algebraic manipulations of elements in \(\pi_1(U) \cong Q_8\), \(\pi_1(V) \cong \mathbb Z_4\) and \(\pi_1(U \cap V) = \mathbb Z_2\) in order to obtain the appropriate relations. Moreover, the article discusses connections with physics or quantum mechanics, with an emphasis on \textit{pseudo-bosons} and \textit{pseudo-fermions}.

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