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Wigner D-matrix
The Wigner D-matrix is a unitary matrix in an irreducible representation of the groups SU(2) and SO(3). It was introduced in 1927 by Eugene Wigner, and plays a fundamental role in the quantum mechanical theory of angular momentum. The complex conjugate of the D-matrix is an eigenfunction of the Hamiltonian of spherical and symmetric rigid rotors. The letter stands for ''Darstellung'', which means "representation" in German. Definition of the Wigner D-matrix Let be generators of the Lie algebra of SU(2) and SO(3). In quantum mechanics, these three operators are the components of a vector operator known as ''angular momentum''. Examples are the angular momentum of an electron in an atom, electronic spin, and the angular momentum of a rigid rotor. In all cases, the three operators satisfy the following commutation relations, : _x,J_y= i J_z,\quad _z,J_x= i J_y,\quad _y,J_z= i J_x, where ''i'' is the purely imaginary number and Planck's constant has been set equal to one. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Unitary Matrix
In linear algebra, a complex square matrix is unitary if its conjugate transpose is also its inverse, that is, if U^* U = UU^* = UU^ = I, where is the identity matrix. In physics, especially in quantum mechanics, the conjugate transpose is referred to as the Hermitian adjoint of a matrix and is denoted by a dagger (†), so the equation above is written U^\dagger U = UU^\dagger = I. The real analogue of a unitary matrix is an orthogonal matrix. Unitary matrices have significant importance in quantum mechanics because they preserve norms, and thus, probability amplitudes. Properties For any unitary matrix of finite size, the following hold: * Given two complex vectors and , multiplication by preserves their inner product; that is, . * is normal (U^* U = UU^*). * is diagonalizable; that is, is unitarily similar to a diagonal matrix, as a consequence of the spectral theorem. Thus, has a decomposition of the form U = VDV^*, where is unitary, and is diagonal and uni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jacobi Polynomials
In mathematics, Jacobi polynomials (occasionally called hypergeometric polynomials) P_n^(x) are a class of Classical orthogonal polynomials, classical orthogonal polynomials. They are orthogonal with respect to the weight (1-x)^\alpha(1+x)^\beta on the interval [-1,1]. The Gegenbauer polynomials, and thus also the Legendre polynomials, Legendre, Zernike polynomials, Zernike and Chebyshev polynomials, are special cases of the Jacobi polynomials. The definition is in IV.1; the differential equation – in IV.2; Rodrigues' formula is in IV.3; the generating function is in IV.4; the recurrent relation is in IV.5. The Jacobi polynomials were introduced by Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi. Definitions Via the hypergeometric function The Jacobi polynomials are defined via the hypergeometric function as follows: :P_n^(z)=\frac\,_2F_1\left(-n,1+\alpha+\beta+n;\alpha+1;\tfrac(1-z)\right), where (\alpha+1)_n is Pochhammer symbol, Pochhammer's symbol (for the rising factorial). In this case, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Legendre Polynomials
In physical science and mathematics, Legendre polynomials (named after Adrien-Marie Legendre, who discovered them in 1782) are a system of complete and orthogonal polynomials, with a vast number of mathematical properties, and numerous applications. They can be defined in many ways, and the various definitions highlight different aspects as well as suggest generalizations and connections to different mathematical structures and physical and numerical applications. Closely related to the Legendre polynomials are associated Legendre polynomials, Legendre functions, Legendre functions of the second kind, and associated Legendre functions. Definition by construction as an orthogonal system In this approach, the polynomials are defined as an orthogonal system with respect to the weight function w(x) = 1 over the interval 1,1/math>. That is, P_n(x) is a polynomial of degree n, such that \int_^1 P_m(x) P_n(x) \,dx = 0 \quad \text n \ne m. With the additional standardization co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Associated Legendre Polynomials
In mathematics, the associated Legendre polynomials are the canonical solutions of the general Legendre equation \left(1 - x^2\right) \frac P_\ell^m(x) - 2 x \frac P_\ell^m(x) + \left \ell (\ell + 1) - \frac \rightP_\ell^m(x) = 0, or equivalently \frac \left \left(1 - x^2\right) \frac P_\ell^m(x) \right+ \left \ell (\ell + 1) - \frac \rightP_\ell^m(x) = 0, where the indices ''ℓ'' and ''m'' (which are integers) are referred to as the degree and order of the associated Legendre polynomial respectively. This equation has nonzero solutions that are nonsingular on only if ''ℓ'' and ''m'' are integers with 0 ≤ ''m'' ≤ ''ℓ'', or with trivially equivalent negative values. When in addition ''m'' is even, the function is a polynomial. When ''m'' is zero and ''ℓ'' integer, these functions are identical to the Legendre polynomials. In general, when ''ℓ'' and ''m'' are integers, the regular solutions are sometimes called "associated Legendre polynomials", even though they are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spherical Harmonics
In mathematics and physical science, spherical harmonics are special functions defined on the surface of a sphere. They are often employed in solving partial differential equations in many scientific fields. Since the spherical harmonics form a complete set of orthogonal functions and thus an orthonormal basis, each function defined on the surface of a sphere can be written as a sum of these spherical harmonics. This is similar to periodic functions defined on a circle that can be expressed as a sum of circular functions (sines and cosines) via Fourier series. Like the sines and cosines in Fourier series, the spherical harmonics may be organized by (spatial) angular frequency, as seen in the rows of functions in the illustration on the right. Further, spherical harmonics are basis functions for irreducible representations of SO(3), the group of rotations in three dimensions, and thus play a central role in the group theoretic discussion of SO(3). Spherical harmonics originate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kronecker Product
In mathematics, the Kronecker product, sometimes denoted by ⊗, is an operation on two matrices of arbitrary size resulting in a block matrix. It is a generalization of the outer product (which is denoted by the same symbol) from vectors to matrices, and gives the matrix of the tensor product linear map with respect to a standard choice of basis. The Kronecker product is to be distinguished from the usual matrix multiplication, which is an entirely different operation. The Kronecker product is also sometimes called matrix direct product. The Kronecker product is named after the German mathematician Leopold Kronecker (1823–1891), even though there is little evidence that he was the first to define and use it. The Kronecker product has also been called the ''Zehfuss matrix'', and the ''Zehfuss product'', after , who in 1858 described this matrix operation, but Kronecker product is currently the most widely used. Definition If A is an matrix and B is a matrix, then the Kr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and one of the most prestigious and highly ranked universities in the world. The university is composed of ten academic faculties plus Harvard Radcliffe Institute. The Faculty of Arts and Sciences offers study in a wide range of undergraduate and graduate academic disciplines, and other faculties offer only graduate degrees, including professional degrees. Harvard has three main campuses: the Cambridge campus centered on Harvard Yard; an adjoining campus immediately across Charles River in the Allston neighborhood of Boston; and the medical campus in Boston's Longwood Medical Area. Harvard's endowment is valued at $50.9 billion, making it the wealthiest academic institution in the world. Endowment inco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haar Measure
In mathematical analysis, the Haar measure assigns an "invariant volume" to subsets of locally compact topological groups, consequently defining an integral for functions on those groups. This measure was introduced by Alfréd Haar in 1933, though its special case for Lie groups had been introduced by Adolf Hurwitz in 1897 under the name "invariant integral". Haar measures are used in many parts of analysis, number theory, group theory, representation theory, statistics, probability theory, and ergodic theory. Preliminaries Let (G, \cdot) be a locally compact Hausdorff topological group. The \sigma-algebra generated by all open subsets of G is called the Borel algebra. An element of the Borel algebra is called a Borel set. If g is an element of G and S is a subset of G, then we define the left and right translates of S by ''g'' as follows: * Left translate: g S = \. * Right translate: S g = \. Left and right translates map Borel sets onto Borel sets. A measure \mu on th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Class Function (algebra)
In mathematics, especially in the fields of group theory and representation theory of groups, a class function is a function on a group ''G'' that is constant on the conjugacy classes of ''G''. In other words, it is invariant under the conjugation map on ''G''. Such functions play a basic role in representation theory. Characters The character of a linear representation of ''G'' over a field ''K'' is always a class function with values in ''K''. The class functions form the center of the group ring ''K'' 'G'' Here a class function ''f'' is identified with the element \sum_ f(g) g. Inner products The set of class functions of a group ''G'' with values in a field ''K'' form a ''K''-vector space. If ''G'' is finite and the characteristic of the field does not divide the order of ''G'', then there is an inner product defined on this space defined by \langle \phi , \psi \rangle = \frac \sum_ \phi(g) \psi(g^) where , ''G'', denotes the order of ''G''. The set of irred ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Group Character
In mathematics, more specifically in group theory, the character of a group representation is a function on the group that associates to each group element the trace of the corresponding matrix. The character carries the essential information about the representation in a more condensed form. Georg Frobenius initially developed representation theory of finite groups entirely based on the characters, and without any explicit matrix realization of representations themselves. This is possible because a complex representation of a finite group is determined (up to isomorphism) by its character. The situation with representations over a field of positive characteristic, so-called "modular representations", is more delicate, but Richard Brauer developed a powerful theory of characters in this case as well. Many deep theorems on the structure of finite groups use characters of modular representations. Applications Characters of irreducible representations encode many important properti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter–Weyl Theorem
In mathematics, the Peter–Weyl theorem is a basic result in the theory of harmonic analysis, applying to topological groups that are compact, but are not necessarily abelian. It was initially proved by Hermann Weyl, with his student Fritz Peter, in the setting of a compact topological group ''G'' . The theorem is a collection of results generalizing the significant facts about the decomposition of the regular representation of any finite group, as discovered by Ferdinand Georg Frobenius and Issai Schur. Let ''G'' be a compact group. The theorem has three parts. The first part states that the matrix coefficients of irreducible representations of ''G'' are dense in the space ''C''(''G'') of continuous complex-valued functions on ''G'', and thus also in the space ''L''2(''G'') of square-integrable functions. The second part asserts the complete reducibility of unitary representations of ''G''. The third part then asserts that the regular representation of ''G'' on ''L''2(''G'') ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
