New J. Phys. 4 (2002) 83
PII: S1367-2630(02)52739-7
Deformation quantization of superintegrable systems and Nambu mechanics
Thomas L Curtright1 and Cosmas K Zachos2
1 Department of Physics, University of Miami, Box
248046, Coral Gables, FL 33124, USA
2 High Energy Physics Division, Argonne National
Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439-4815, USA
Email: curtright@physics.miami.edu
and
zachos@hep.anl.gov
New Journal of Physics 4 (2002) 83.1-83.16
Received 23 August 2002
Published 29 October 2002
| Abstract.
Phase space is the framework best suited for quantizing
superintegrable systems, naturally preserving the symmetry
algebras of the respective Hamiltonian invariants. The power and
simplicity of the method is fully illustrated through new
applications to nonlinear |
Highly symmetric quantum systems are often integrable and, in
special cases, superintegrable and exactly
solvable [1]. A superintegrable system of N degrees
of freedom has more than N independent invariants, and a
maximally superintegrable one has 2N - 1 invariants. In the
case of velocity-dependent potentials, when quantization of a
classical system presents operator ordering ambiguities
involving x and p, the general consensus has long
been [2]-[5] to select those orderings in the
quantum Hamiltonian which maximally preserve the symmetries
present in the corresponding classical Hamiltonian. Often, even
for simple systems, such as
-models considered here,
such constructions may become involved and needlessly
technical.
It is pointed out here that, in contrast to conventional
operator quantization, this problem of selecting the quantum
Hamiltonian which maximally preserves integrability is addressed
most suitably and cogently in Moyal's phase-space quantization
formulation [6]-[8]. The reason is that
the variables involved in it (`classical kernels' or `Weyl
transforms of operators') are c-number functions, like those of
the classical phase-space theory, and have the same
interpretation, although they involve
-corrections
(`deformations'), in general--so
reduces
them to the classical expressions. It is only the detailed
algebraic structure of their respective brackets and
composition rules which contrast with the variables of the
classical theory. This complete formulation is based on the
Wigner function (WF), which is a quasi-probability distribution
function in phase space, and comprises the kernel function of
the density matrix. Observables and transition amplitudes are
phase-space integrals of kernel functions weighted by the WF, in
analogy to statistical mechanics. Kernel functions, however,
unlike classical functions, compose through the
-product, a
noncommutative, associative, pseudodifferential operation,
which encodes the entire quantum mechanical action and whose
antisymmetrization (commutator) is the Moyal bracket
(MB) [6]-[8].
Any arbitrary operator ordering could be brought to
Weyl-ordering format by the use of Heisenberg commutations, and
through Weyl's transform corresponds invertibly to a specific
-deformation in the classical
kernel [9,10]. Thus, two operators of different
orderings correspond to kernel functions differing in their
deformation terms of
. The problem thus reduces to
a purely
-product algebraic one, as the resulting preferred
orderings are specified and encoded most simply by far through
the particular deformation of the resulting c-number kernel expressions.
Hietarinta [11] has investigated in this
phase-space quantization language the simplest integrable
systems of velocity-dependent potentials. In each system, he has
promoted the vanishing of the Poisson bracket (PB) of the (one)
classical invariant I (conserved integral) with the
Hamiltonian, {H, I} = 0, to the vanishing of its (quantum)
MB with the Hamiltonian,
{{Hqm, Iqm}} = 0. This dictates quantum corrections, addressed
perturbatively in
: he has found
corrections
to the Is and H (V), needed for quantum symmetry. The
expressions found are quite simple, as the systems chosen are
such that the polynomial character of the ps, or suitable
balanced combinations of ps and qs, ensure collapse or
subleading termination of the MBs. The specification of the
symmetric Hamiltonian is then complete, since the quantum
Hamiltonian in terms of classical phase-space variables
corresponds uniquely to the Weyl-ordered expression for these
variables in operator language. Berry [12] has also
studied the WFs of integrable systems in great depth.
In this paper, nonlinear
-models (with explicit
illustrations on N-spheres and chiral models) are utilized
to argue for the general principles of power and convenience in
isometry-preserving quantization in phase space, for large
numbers of invariants, in principle (as many as the isometries
of the relevant manifold). In the cases illustrated, the number
of algebraically independent invariants matches or exceeds the
dimension of the manifold, leading to
superintegrability [1], whose impact is best surveyed
through Nambu brackets (NB) [13]-[16]. The
procedure of determining the proper symmetric quantum
Hamiltonian then yields remarkably compact and elegant
expressions.
Briefly, we find that the symmetry generator invariants are
undeformed by quantization, but the Casimir invariants of
their MB algebras are deformed. Hence, the Hamiltonians are also
deformed by terms
, as they consist of quadratic
Casimir invariants. Their spectra are then read off through
group theory, properly adapted to phase space. The basic
principles are illustrated for the simplest curved manifold,
the 2-sphere, in section 2, while generalization to larger
classes of symmetric manifolds such as chiral models and
N-spheres is provided in sections 3 and 4, which also
investigate the underlying distinctive geometry of such models.
Moreover, in section 5, the classical evolution of all
functions in phase space for such systems is specified through
NBs, whose quantization is briefly outlined and compared to
the standard Moyal deformation quantization utilized in
this work. This comparison validates Nambu's original
quantization proposal. Conclusions are summarized in section 6,
while a few geometrical derivations on the classical structure
of chiral models are provided in the appendix.
Consider a particle on a curved manifold, in integrable
one-dimensional
-models considered by Sasaki
(unpublished):
![]() |
(1) |
so that
![]() |
(2) |
Thus
![]() |
(3) |
The isometries of the manifold generate the conserved integrals
of the motion [22]. The classical equations of motion are
![]() |
(4) |
As the simplest possible nontrivial illustration, consider a
particle on a 2-sphere of unit radius, S2. In Cartesian
coordinates (after the elimination of z, so
q1 = x, q2 = y),
one has, for a, b = 1, 2:
![]() |
(5) |
![]() |
(6) |
The classical equations of motion here amount to
![]() |
(7) |
It is then easy to find the three classical invariants, the
components of the conserved angular momentum in this nonlinear realization,
![]() |
(8) |
| |
(9) |
Thus, it follows algebraically that their PBs with the Casimir
invariant
vanish. Naturally, since
, they are manifested to be
time-invariant:
| (10) |
In quantizing this system, operator ordering issues arise,
given the effective velocity (momentum)-dependent potential. In
phase-space quantization, one may insert Groenewold's [10]
associative (and
noncommutative)
-products:
![]() |
(11) |
in strategic points and orderings of the variables
of (3), to maintain integrability. That is, the
classical invariance expressions (PB commutativity):
| {I, H} = 0 | (12) |
are to be promoted to quantum invariances (MB commutativity):
![]() |
(13) |
![]() |
(14) |
The reason is that, in this realization, the
algebra (9) is promoted to the corresponding MB
expression without any modification, since all of its MBs
collapse to PBs by the linearity in momenta of the arguments:
all corrections
vanish. Consequently, these
particular invariants are undeformed by quantization,
L = Lqm. As a result, given associativity for
, the
corresponding quantum quadratic Casimir invariant
has vanishing MBs with L (but not
vanishing PBs), and automatically serves as a
symmetry-preserving Hamiltonian. The specification of the
maximally symmetric quantum Hamiltonian is thus complete.
The
-product in this Hamiltonian trivially evaluates to
yield the quantum correction to (3):
![]() |
(15) |
In phase-space quantization [6]-[8], the
WF (the kernel function of the density matrix) evolves
according to Moyal's equation [6]:
![]() |
(16) |
in addition to it, the WFs for pure stationary states also
satisfy [17,7]
-genvalue equations specifying the
spectrum:
![]() |
(17) |
The spectrum of this Hamiltonian, then, is proportional to the
spectrum of the SO(3) Casimir-invariant
for integer l [18]. It can be produced algebraically
by the identical standard recursive ladder operations in
-space which obtain in the operator formalism Fock space
| (18) |
where
.
To bound the
-spectrum of Lz, an adaptation of the
standard argument is needed to expectation values which are
WF-weighted phase-space integrals in this formulation. Indeed,
from the real
-square theorem [19], it follows that
| (19) |
The
-genvalues of Lz, m, are thus bounded,
,
necessitating
. Hence
| (20) |
and consequently
. Similar
-ladder arguments and inequalities apply
directly in phase space to all Lie algebras.
Classical Hamiltonians are scalar under canonical
transformations, but it should not be assumed that the quantum
mechanical expression (15) is a canonical scalar.
If, instead of the orthogonal projection employed above, the
gnomonic projection [4] from the centre of the sphere
were used, i.e. PR2 projective coordinates,
![]() |
(21) |
it would yield
![]() |
(22) |
The Hamiltonian would now be polynomial:
![]() |
(23) |
Rewritten in terms of its invariants
| (24) |
which would obey the same MB SO(3) algebra as before,
it would specify a quantum Hamiltonian:
![]() |
(25) |
where
involves Q, P instead of q, p. This then
would lead to the polynomial quantum correction
![]() |
(26) |
But this would be different from the above correction:
![]() |
(27) |
For canonical transformations in phase-space quantization
see [7]. The
-product and WFs would not be invariant
but would transform in a suitable quantum covariant
way [7], so as to yield an identical MB algebra and
-genvalue equations, and thus a spectrum, following from the
identical group theoretical construction.
The treatment of the 3-sphere S3 is very similar, with some
significant differences, since it also accords to the standard
chiral model technology. The metric and equations of motion, etc,
are identical in form to those above, except now
,
, and a, b = 1, 2, 3. However, the description
simplifies upon utilization of Vielbeine,
and
.
Specifically, the Dreibeine are either left-invariant or
right invariant [20]:
| (28) |
The corresponding right- and left-conserved charges (left- and
right-invariant, respectively) are then
| (29) |
More intuitive than those for S2 are the linear combinations
into axial and isospin charges (again linear in the momenta)
![]() |
(30) |
It can be seen that the Ls and Rs have PBs
closing into standard
, i.e. SU(2)
relations within each set, and vanishing between the two sets.
Thus they are seen to be constant, since the Hamiltonian (and
the Lagrangian) can, in fact, be written in terms of either
quadratic Casimir invariant:
![]() |
(31) |
Quantization consistent with integrability thus proceeds as
above for the 2-sphere, since the MB algebra collapses to PBs
again, and so the quantum invariants L and R again
coincide with the classical ones, without deformation (quantum
corrections). The
-product is now the obvious
generalization to six-dimensional phase space. The eigenvalues of
the relevant Casimir invariant are now j(j + 1), for
half-integer j [21]. However, this being a chiral
model (
), the symmetric quantum Hamiltonian is
simpler than the previous one, since it can now also be written
geometrically as
![]() |
(32) |
The Dreibeine throughout this formula can be either
+Via or -Via, corresponding to either the
right- or the left-acting quadratic Casimir invariant. The
quantum correction then amounts to
![]() |
(33) |
This expression,
, again is
not canonically invariant. For example, in gnomonic PR3
coordinatesNote1, it is
, i.e. it has not
transformed as a canonical scalar [7].
If one wished to interpret this simple result (32) in
operator language (for operators
and
), it would appear somewhat more complex:
the first term,
gab(x) pa pb/2, would correspond to the
Weyl-ordered expression
![]() |
(34) |
in agreement with [3]. The second term, of course, is unambiguous, since it does not contain momenta.
In general, the above discussion also applies to all chiral
models, with
replacing
above.
That is, the Vielbein-momenta combinations Vajpa represent
algebra generator invariants, whose quadratic Casimir group
invariants yield the respective Hamiltonians, and hence the
properly
-ordered quantum Hamiltonians as above. (We follow
the conventions of [22], taking the generators of G in
the defining representation to be Tj.)
That is to say, for
![]() |
(35) |
it follows that the PBs of the left- and right-invariant charges
close to the identical Lie
algebras:
| |
(36) |
and PB commute with each other:
| {(+)Vajpa, (-)Vbkpb }=0. | (37) |
These two statements are proved in the appendix.
MBs collapse to PBs by linearity in momenta as before, and the
Hamiltonian is identical in form to (32).
From (83) of the appendix, the quantum correction
in (32) is seen to amount to
![]() |
(38) |
In operator language, this Hamiltonian Hqm amounts to Weyl-ordering of all products on the rhs, but, for generic groups, the first term in (32) does not reduce as simply as in (34) above. The spectra are given by the Casimir eigenvalues for the relevant algebras and representations.
For the generic sphere models, SN, the maximally symmetric
Hamiltonians are the quadratic Casimir invariants of SO(N + 1):
![]() |
(39) |
where
| (40) |
for a = 1, ..., N, the de Sitter momenta and angular momenta of SO(N + 1)/SO(N). All of these N(N + 1)/2 sphere-translations and rotations are symmetries of the classical Hamiltonian.
Quantization proceeds as in S2, maintaining conservation of
all Pa and Lab:
![]() |
(41) |
and hence the quantum correction is
![]() |
(42) |
The spectra are proportional to the Casimir eigenvalues l(l + N - 1) for integer l [18]. For N = 3 of the previous section, this form is reconciled with the Casimir expression for (31) as l = 2j and agrees with [3]-[5].
A plausible question might arise at this point: whether the
above quantum Hamiltonian (41) could be expressed
geometrically, in tangent space, as was detailed for the chiral
models in the previous section. For the generic sphere models,
SN, the Vielbeine are
![]() |
(43) |
The classical Hamiltonian also equals
![]() |
(44) |
but the quantum Hamiltonian (41) is not equal to
the chiral model form:
![]() |
(45) |
Equality even fails for the S3 case of the previous section, as (32) only holds for Dreibeine defined differently, as in that section.
The cotangent bundle currents, for a general manifold, do not
have their MBs reduce down to the Vielbein currents as
in (36), but, instead,
| (46) |
where, for the N-sphere, choosing the - sign
in (43), so
for
,
| (47) |
It follows that
![]() |
(48) |
![]() |
(49) |
i.e.
. Still, even with reduced
symmetry, H 'qm is maximally superintegrable for
.
Nevertheless, despite these differences, it can be shown that a
-similarity transformation bridges these Hamiltonians.
Consider
![]() |
(50) |
and the complex conjugate transformation
![]() |
(51) |
Associativity of the
-product then allows the maximally
symmetric real Hamiltonian to be written as one half
of (51)
(50):
![]() |
(52) |
This form was discovered by using homogeneous coordinates on
the sphere, with
, where
is the
polar angle.
5. Maximal superintegrability and the Nambu bracket
All the models considered above have extra invariants beyond the number of conserved quantities in involution (mutually commuting) required for integrability in the Liouville sense. The most systematic way of accounting for such additional invariants, and placing them all on a more equal footing, even when they do not all simultaneously commute, is the NB formalism.
For example, the classical mechanics of a particle on an
N-sphere, as discussed above, may be summarized elegantly through
Nambu mechanics in phase space [13,15].
Specifically, [14,16], in an N-dimensional
space, and thus 2N-dimensional phase space, motion is
confined on the constant surfaces specified by the
algebraically independent integrals of the motion (e.g. Lx, Ly, Lz for S2 above.) Consequently, the phase-space
velocity
is always
perpendicular to the 2N-dimensional phase-space gradients
of all these
integrals of motion.
As a consequence, if there are 2N-1 algebraically independent
such integrals, possibly including the Hamiltonian (i.e. the
system is maximally superintegrable [1]), the
phase-space velocity must be proportional [14] to
the cross-product of all those gradients, and hence the motion
is fully specified for any phase-space function
k(q, p) by a phase-space Jacobian which amounts to
the NB:
![]() |
(53) |
For instance, for the above S2,
![]() |
(54) |
For the more general SN, one now has a choice of 2N - 1 of
the N(N + 1)/2 invariants of SO(N + 1); one of several possible
expressions is
![]() |
(55) |
where
, for
a = 1, ..., N, and
La, a + 1 = qapa + 1 - qa +1pa, for
.
In general [15], NBs, being Jacobian determinants,
possess all antisymmetries of such; being linear in all
derivatives, they also obey the Leibniz rule of partial
differentiation:
![]() |
(56) |
Thus, an entry in the NB algebraically dependent on the
remaining entries leads to a vanishing bracket. For example,
it is seen directly from above that the Hamiltonian is constant:
![]() |
(57) |
since each term of this NB vanishes. Naturally, this also applies to all explicit examples discussed here, as they are all maximally superintegrable.
Finally, the impossibility to antisymmetrize more than 2N
indices in 2N-dimensional phase space:
| (58) |
leads to the fundamental identity, [15], slightly
generalized here:
![]() |
(59) |
This m + 1-term identity works for any m, and not just m = 2N here.
The proportionality constant V in (53):
![]() |
(60) |
has to be a time-invariant [16] if it has no explicit
time dependence. This is seen from the consistency
of (60), application of which to
![]() |
(61) |
yields
![]() |
(62) |
and, by virtue of (59),
follows.
Closure under PBs of quantities serving as arguments in the NB
does not suffice for a NB to vanish, as illustrated
in (54) where
{Lx, Ly} = Lz. On the other hand, it
is always true that PBs of conserved integrals are themselves
conserved integrals, i.e.
![]() |
(63) |
must vanish.
Actually, PBs result from a maximal reduction of NBs, by inserting 2N-2 phase-space coordinates and summing over them, thereby taking symplectic traces
![]() |
(64) |
where summation over all N - 1 pairs of repeated indices is
understoodNote2.
Fewer traces lead to relations between NBs of maximal rank,
2N, and those of lesser rank, 2k:
![]() |
(65) |
As a simple illustration, consider N = k = 2 for the
system (54), but now taking Lx, Ly as second-class
constraints:
| (66) |
That is,
| {f, g}DB = ({Lx, Ly})-1{f, g, Lx, Ly}, | (67) |
so that, from (59) with
f0 = ({Lx, Ly}) - 1 = 1/Lz
(also see [16]), it follows that the DBs
satisfy the Jacobi identity
| {{f, g}DB, h}DB + {{g, h}DB, f}DB + {{h, f}DB, g}DB = 0, | (68) |
a property usually established by explicit calculation [23], in contrast to this derivation. Naturally, {f, Lx, Ly, Lz} = {f, H}DB.
By virtue of this symplectic trace, for a general system--not
only a superintegrable one--Hamilton's equations admit an NB
expression different than (60):
![]() |
(69) |
Despite considerable progress in the last six years [24],
the deformation quantization of the Nambu formalism is not
completely settled: a transparent, user-friendly technique is
not at hand. One desirable feature would be a quantized NB
which reduces to MBs through symplectic traces. One might call
such a deformation autologous to the
-product method
applied throughout this paper. This is not the case for the
abelian deformation [24]. But it is the case for another,
older approach to quantization, namely the method considered by
Nambu in an operator context [13], when applied to the
phase-space formalism.
Define quantum Nambu brackets (QNB):
![]() |
(70) |
etc, and use these symmetrized
-products in the quantum theory instead of the previous Jacobians.
This approach grants only one of the three mathematical
desiderata: full antisymmetry. The Leibniz
property (56) and the fundamental identity (59)
are not satisfied, in general. To some extent, the loss of the
latter two properties is a subjective shortcoming and
dependent on the specific application context. But,
objectively, this approach is in agreement with the
-product
quantization of the examples given above.
For example, by virtue of the MBs for the 2-sphere, expressed
in gnomonic coordinates,
![]() |
(71) |
The first of these is classical in form, while the second
contains a quantum correction that is a hallmark of the method.
By comparison, we also find exactly the same results using
Nambu's approach:
![]() |
(72) |
where the second of these includes the quantum correction
as above.
In fact, this result generalizes to arbitrary functions of
phase space with no explicit time dependence, for all
coordinate frames. Specifically, for S2, it follows directly
from (70) and (9) (with MBs supplanting PBs,
{{Lx, Ly}} = Lz,
{{Ly, Lz}} = Lx,
{{Lz, Lx}} = Ly) that the MB with the
Hamiltonian (14) equals Nambu's QNB, for an
arbitrary function k of phase space:
| (73) |
so that
![]() |
(74) |
For
, it naturally goes to (54).
As a derivation, this ensures that consistency
requirements (56) and (59) are satisfied,
with the suitable insertion of
-multiplication in the
proper locations to ensure full combinatoric analogy:
| |
(75) |
and
![]() |
(76) |
The reader might also wish to note from (70) that, for
any phase-space constant A,
| (77) |
holds identically, in contrast to the 3-argument QNB [13]. Thus, d A/d t = 0 is consistent and no debilitating constraint among the arguments B, C, D is imposed; the inconsistency identified in [13] is a feature of odd-argument QNBs and does not restrict the even-argument QNBs of phase space considered here.
By contrast, one might try to define a quantized NB
simply by taking
-products of
the phase-space gradients that appear in the classical NB and
applying Jordan's trick of symmetrizing all such products at the
expense of making the algebra non-associative. This also fails
to grant all three mathematical desiderata (antisymmetry,
Leibniz property and FI). But, more importantly, it does not
give the same equations of motion. Although, in gnomonic
coordinates,
d X/d t is as given above, the other equation of
motion would now become
![]() |
(78) |
Thus, in general, quantum corrections differ in these various methods.
In practice, however, given the simple energy spectrum and other
features of the usual Moyal
-product quantization
(essentially, its equivalence to standard Hilbert-space quantum
mechanics), it is clearly the preferred method for conventional
problems such as the ones solved in this paper. In any case,
quantum deformations of the NB should not only
link (16) up with (69)
and (60), as above, but also provide equivalents to
the
-genvalue equation (17) for static
WFs, needed to support the spectral theory in such a formalism.
As indicated, in general, the QNB (which provide the correct
quantization rule for the systems considered) need not satisfy
the Leibniz property and FI for consistency, as they are not
necessarily derivations. For example, for S3, to
quantize (55) for N = 3, note that
| (79) |
where
is an
sum of triple commutators of
k with invariants. Consequently, the proper quantization
of (55) is
![]() |
(80) |
and again reduces to (55) in the
limit, as
is subdominant in
to the time
derivative term. The right-hand side not being an unadorned
derivation on k, it does not impose a Leibniz rule analogous
to (75) on the left-hand side, so it fails the
mathematical desiderata mentioned, at no compromise to its
validity, however. The N > 3 case parallels the above through
use of fully symmetrized products.
The first aim of this paper has been to illustrate the power
and simplicity of phase-space quantization of superintegrable
systems which would suffer from operator ordering ambiguities in
conventional quantization. Many of these
-models
quantized here, such as the SN models, have already been
quantized conventionally [2]-[5]
through elaborate operator algebra preserving the maximal
symmetries of these systems (see especially the second reference
of [1]). But not all, such as the chiral models,
whose geometrical complication has so far only partially yielded
to indirect methods [21].
Here, the procedure of determining the proper symmetric quantum
Hamiltonian has yielded remarkably compact and elegant
expressions, since a survey of all alternate operator orderings
in a problem with such ambiguities amounts, in deformation
quantization, to a survey of the `quantum correction'
pieces of the respective kernel functions, i.e. the
inverse Weyl transforms of those operators, and their study, is
greatly systematized and expedited. The choice-of-ordering problems
then reduce to purely
-product algebraic ones, as the
resulting preferred orderings are specified through particular
deformations in the c-number kernel expressions resulting from
the particular solution in phase space. For the N-spheres, our
results agree with the results
of [1]-[5], while quantum
Hamiltonians for chiral models such as (38) are
new. With functional methods confined to phase space, we have
also illustrated how the spectra of such Hamiltonians may be
obtained. One might wish to contrast the quantum correction
found here in (15) to the free-space
angular-momentum quantum correction [25], which is also
, although a constant, reflecting the vanishing
curvature of that underlying manifold. Predictably, on the north
pole of (15), u = 1, and these expressions
coincide. This difference and pole coincidence carries over for
all dimensions, as is evident in the quantum correction (42)
for SN.
More elaborate isometries of general manifolds in such models are expected to yield to analysis similar to what has been illustrated for the prototypes considered here.
The second main conclusion of this paper has been a surprising application: quantization of maximally superintegrable systems in phase space has facilitated explicit testing of NB quantization proposals through direct comparison of the conventional quantum answers thus found. The classical evolution of all functions in phase space for such systems is alternatively specified through NBs. However, quantization of NBs has been considered problematic ever since their inception. Nevertheless, it was demonstrated that Nambu's early quantization prescription [13] can, indeed, succeed, despite widespread expectations to the contrary. Comparison to the standard Moyal deformation quantization utilized in this work vindicates Nambu's early quantization prescription (and invalidates other prescriptions) for systems such as SN. We thus stress the utility of phase-space quantization as a comparison testing tool for NB quantization proposals.
We gratefully acknowledge helpful discussions with R Sasaki, D Fairlie and Y Nutku. This work was supported in part by the US Department of Energy, Division of High Energy Physics, Contract W-31-109-ENG-38, and the NSF Award 0073390.
Equations (36) and (37) are implicit in [22] and throughout the literature, but it may be useful here to provide a direct geometrical proof.
For any Vielbein satisfying
gab = VajVbj and the
Maurer-Cartan equation
| (81) |
we have ((3.16) of [22])
| DaVbi = - fimnVamVbn, | (82) |
or
| |
(83) |
where the Christoffel connection is the usual functional of just
the metric gab. These hold for both groups of Vielbeine
for the same metric and hence Christoffel connection; and so,
for both groups of charges
, it follows
that
![]() |
(84) |
Actually, for any two Vielbeine, V and
, producing
the same metric (and hence Christoffel connection) and obeying
their own Maurer-Cartan equations, both satisfy equations
like (83), and hence algebras like (84).
The cross-PBs, however, need not automatically vanish in the general case:
![]() |
(85) |
The terms in parentheses in the final line are actually the torsions on
the respective manifolds ((3.10) of [22]), induced by the corresponding
Vielbeine, up to a normalization:
| (86) |
Hence
| (87) |
However, for the specific chirally enantiomorphic Vielbeine
defined above,
Vam = (+)Vam and
, it further follows
from equation (3.10) of [22] that, in fact,
![]() |
(88) |
and thus, indeed, (37) holds.
Notes
Each NB in this consistency relation vanishes separately.
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