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P. -M. Zhang

Publications and source records attributed to P. -M. Zhang.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
arXiv2025

MultiCarroll dynamics

Unlike a single Carroll particle, a multiparticle Carroll system can move under suitable conditions, as we demonstrate it explicitly for two particles with a momentum-dependent interaction: the center-of-mass remains fixed, however relative motion is possible, confirming previous statements made by Bergshoeff, Casalbuoni, and their collaborators. Analogous results are obtained for electric dipoles with the roles of the center-of-mass and the relative position interchanged.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2025

Displacement within velocity effect in gravitational wave memory

Particles initially at rest hit by a passing sandwich gravitational wave exhibit, in general, thevelocity memory effect (VM): they fly apart with constant velocity. For specific values of the wave parameters their motion can however become pure displacement (DM) as suggested by Zel'dovich and Polnarev. For such a ``miraculous'' value, the particle trajectory is composed of an integer number of (approximate) standing half-waves. Our statements are illustrated numerically by a Gaussian, and analytically by the Pöschl-Teller profiles.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2020

The physics of helical electron beam in a uniform magnetic field as a testing ground of gauge principle

According to Bliokh et al., allowing free propagation along the direction of a uniform magnetic field, the familiar Landau electron state can be regarded as a non-diffracting version of the helical electron beam propagating along the magnetic field. Based on this observation, they argued that, while propagating along the magnetic field, the Landau electrons receive characteristic rotation with three different angular velocities, depending on the eigen-value $m$ of the canonical OAM operator, which is generally gauge-variant, and this splitting was in fact experimentally confirmed. Through complete analyses of highly mysterious $m$-dependent rotational dynamics of the quantum Landau states, we try to make clear how and why their observation does not contradict the widely-believed gauge principle.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2018

Velocity Memory Effect for Polarized Gravitational Waves

Circularly polarized gravitational sandwich waves exhibit, as do their linearly polarized counterparts, the Velocity Memory Effect: freely falling test particles in the flat after-zone fly apart along straight lines with constant velocity. In the inside zone their trajectories combine oscillatory and rotational motions in a complicated way. For circularly polarized periodic gravitational waves some trajectories remain bounded, while others spiral outward. These waves admit an additional "screw" isometry beyond the usual five. The consequences of this extra symmetry are explored.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2018

The issue of gauge choice in the Landau problem and the physics of canonical and mechanical orbital angular momenta

One intriguing issue in the nucleon spin decomposition problem is the existence of two types of decompositions, which are representably characterized by two different orbital angular momenta (OAMs) of quarks. The one is the manifestly gauge-invariant mechanical OAM, while the other is the so-called gauge-invariant canonical (g.i.c.) OAM, the concept of which was introduced by Chen et al. To get a deep insight into the difference of these two decompositions, it is therefore vitally important to understand the the physical meanings of the above two OAMs correctly. Also to be clarified is the implication of the gauge symmetry that is immanent in the concept of g.i.c. OAM. We find that the famous Landau problem provides us with an ideal tool to answer these questions owing to its analytically solvable nature. After deriving a complete relation between the standard eigen-functions of the Landau Hamiltonian in the Landau gauge and in the symmetric gauge, we try to unravel the physics of the the canonical OAM and the mechanical OAM, by paying special attention to their gauge-dependence. We also argue that, different from the mechanical OAM of the electron, the canonical OAM or its gauge-invariant version would not correspond to any direct observables at least in the Landau problem. Also briefly discussed is the uniqueness or non-uniqueness problem of the nucleon spin decomposition, which arises from the arbitrariness in the definition of the so-called physical component of the gauge field.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2018

Memory Effect for Impulsive Gravitational Waves

Impulsive gravitational plane waves, which have a delta-function singularity on a hypersurface, can be obtained by squeezing smooth plane gravitational waves with Gaussian profile. They exhibit (as do their smooth counterparts) the Velocity Memory Effect: after the wave has passed, particles initially at rest move apart with non vanishing constant transverse velocity. A new effect is that, unlike to the smooth case, (i) the velocities of particles originally at rest jump, (ii) the spacetime trajectories become discontinuous along the (lightlike) propagation direction of the wave.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2017

Soft Gravitons & the Memory Effect for Plane Gravitational Waves

The "gravitational memory effect" due to an exact plane wave provides us with an elementary description of the diffeomorphisms associated with soft gravitons. It is explained how the presence of the latter may be detected by observing the motion of freely falling particles or other forms of gravitational wave detection. Numerical calculations confirm the relevance of the first, second and third time integrals of the Riemann tensor pointed out earlier. Solutions for various profiles are constructed. It is also shown how to extend our treatment to Einstein-Maxwell plane waves and a midi-superspace quantization is given.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2017

Carroll symmetry of plane gravitational waves

The well-known 5-parameter isometry group of plane gravitational waves in $4$ dimensions is identified as Levy-Leblond's Carroll group in $2+1$ dimensions with no rotations. Our clue is that plane waves are Bargmann spaces into which Carroll manifolds can be embedded. We also comment on the scattering of light by a gravitational wave and calculate its electric permittivity considered as an impedance-matched metamaterial.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2017

Duality and helicity: the photon wave function approach

The photon wave equation proposed in terms of the Riemann-Silberstein vector is derived from a first-order Dirac/Weyl-type action principle. It is symmetric w.r.t. duality transformations, but the associated Noether quantity vanishes. Replacing the fields by potentials and using instead a quadratic Klein-Gordon-type Lagrangian allows us to recover the double-Chern-Simons expression of conserved helicity and is shown to be equivalent to recently proposed alternative frameworks. Applied to the potential-modified theory the Dirac/Weyl-type approach yields again zero conserved charge, whereas the Klein-Gordon-type approach applied to the original setting yields Lipkin's "zilch".

hep-th↗
arXiv2016

Duality and helicity: a symplectic viewpoint

The theorem which says that helicity is the conserved quantity associated with the duality symmetry of the vacuum Maxwell equations is proved by viewing electromagnetism as an infinite dimensional symplectic system. In fact, it is shown that helicity is the moment map of duality acting as an $SO(2)$ group of canonical transformations on the symplectic space of all solutions of the vacuum Maxwell equations.

math-ph↗
arXiv2016

Helicity of spin-extended chiral particles

The helicity of a free massless relativistic particle, $χ^o={\bf s}.{\bf p}/|{\bf p}|$, is generalized, for a particle in an electromagnetic field, to $χ={\bf s}.{\bf p}/{\cal E}$, where ${\cal E}$ is the modified kinetic energy. Both $χ^o$ and $χ$ coincide and are conserved for minimal coupling (gyromagnetic ratio $g=0$) but are different and neither of them is conserved when the coupling is non-minimal, $g\neq0$, generating non-zero effective mass. For a chiral particle with $g=2$ in a constant electric field both helicities converge asymptotically to the same value. Helicity is also conserved for minimal gravitational coupling.

hep-th↗
arXiv2015

Wigner-Souriau translations and Lorentz symmetry of chiral fermions

Chiral fermions can be embedded into Souriau's massless spinning particle model by "enslaving" the spin, viewed as a gauge constraint. The latter is not invariant under Lorentz boosts; spin enslavement can be restored, however, by a subsequent Wigner-Souriau (WS) translation, analogous to a compensating gauge transformation. The combined transformation is precisely the recently uncovered twisted boost, which we now extend to finite transformations. WS-translations are identified with the stability group of a motion acting on the right on the Poincare group, whereas the natural Poincare action corresponds to action on the left. The relation to non-commutative mechanics is explained.

hep-th↗
arXiv2014

Conformal Killing Tensors and covariant Hamiltonian Dynamics

A covariant algorithm for deriving the conserved quantities for natural Hamiltonian systems is combined with the non-relativistic framework of Eisenhart, and of Duval, in which the classical trajectories arise as geodesics in a higher dimensional space-time, realized by Brinkmann manifolds. Conserved quantities which are polynomial in the momenta can be built using time-dependent conformal Killing tensors with flux. The latter are associated with terms proportional to the Hamiltonian in the lower dimensional theory and with spectrum generating algebras for higher dimensional quantities of order $1$ and $2$ in the momenta. Illustrations of the general theory include the Runge-Lenz vector for planetary motion with a time-dependent gravitational constant $G(t)$, motion in a time-dependent electromagnetic field of a certain form, quantum dots, the Hénon-Heiles and Holt systems, respectively, providing us with Killing tensors of rank that ranges from one to six.

math-ph↗
arXiv2014

Anomalous Hall Effect for semiclassical chiral fermions

Semiclassical chiral fermions manifest the anomalous spin-Hall effect: when put into a pure electric field they suffer a side jump, analogous to what happens to their massive counterparts in non-commutative mechanics. The transverse shift is consistent with the conservation of the angular momentum. In a pure magnetic field instead, spiraling motion is found. Motion in Hall-type perpendicular electric and magnetic fields is also studied.

hep-th↗
arXiv2014

Killing tensors and canonical geometry

The systematic derivation of constants of the motion, based on Killing tensors and the gauge covariant approach, is outlined. Quantum dots are shown to support second-, third- and fourth-rank Killing tensors.

hep-th↗
arXiv2013

Separability and Dynamical Symmetry of Quantum Dots

The separability and Runge-Lenz-type dynamical symmetry of the internal dynamics of certain two-electron Quantum Dots, found by Simonović et al. [1], is traced back to that of the perturbed Kepler problem. A large class of axially symmetric perturbing potentials which allow for separation in parabolic coordinates can easily be found. Apart of the 2:1 anisotropic harmonic trapping potential considered in [1], they include a constant electric field parallel to the magnetic field (Stark effect), the ring-shaped Hartmann potential, etc. The harmonic case is studied in detail.

hep-th↗
arXiv2009

Non-relativistic conformal symmetries in fluid mechanics

The symmetries of a free incompressible fluid span the Galilei group, augmented with independent dilations of space and time. When the fluid is compressible, the symmetry is enlarged to the expanded Schroedinger group, which also involves, in addition, Schroedinger expansions. While incompressible fluid dynamics can be derived as an appropriate non-relativistic limit of a conformally-invariant relativistic theory, the recently discussed Conformal Galilei group, obtained by contraction from the relativistic conformal group, is not a symmetry. This is explained by the subtleties of the non-relativistic limit.

physics.flu-dyn↗