Applications

The most of important applications of group theory in physics are found not in the classical mechanics but rather in quantum mechanics. There the ground state of a system usually does exhibit the full symmetry of the Hamiltonian, though a very important and interesting exception to this occurs in the phenomenon of spontaneous symmetry breaking, where, again because of some uncontrollable perturbation of the initial conditions, one asymmetric solution is picked out of an infinite set of possible ones. Thus the fundamental interactions of the spins in a ferromagnetic are rotationally symmetric, but when one is formed they align themselves in some particular direction. But as an example of the more usual scenario, consider the group state of the hydrogen atom; the ground state wave function gives a spherically symmetric probability distribution which indeed respects the spherical symmetry of the 1/r potential. As far as the excited states are concerned, the rotational symmetry of the problem means that they can be classified by the total angular momentum number l and the magnetic quantum number m, which refers to the eigenvalue of its z component. Moreover, the energy does not depend on m. this makes perfect sense physically, since there is no preferred direction: the choice of z axis was completely arbitrary. As far as mathematics is concerned, it means that we have a degenerate space of eigenfunctions with m ranging from +l to l. which all have the same energy and can be transformed into each other by rotations. We can take arbitrary
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linear combinations of the 2l+1 eigenfunctions which are still eigenfunctions with the same energy and total angular momentum. They therefore form what is technically known as a vector space. The group of rotations in ordinary 3-dimensional space induces transformations within this vector space, giving what is known as a representation, which can be realized by matrices, in this case of dimension (2l+1)*(2l+1).[3]

In classical mechanics the symmetry of a physical system leads to conservation laws. Conservation of angular momentum is a direct consequence of rotational symmetry, which means invariance under spatial rotations. In the first third of 20th century, Wigner and others realized that invariance was a key concept in understanding the new quantum phenomena and in developing appropriate theories. Thus, in quantum mechanics the concept of angular momentum and spin momentum has become even more central.[4]

1) Raising of Degeneracy:
Degeneracy: We are typically concerned with the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of a quantum Hamiltonian 0 which is invariant under a group symmetry transformation G. In Dirac notation the energy eigenvalue equation is
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0 | (0) >= (0) |

>

.. (a)

And the invariance of 0 is expressed by 0 . () = 0 Where U(g) is the unitary operator induced in the space of quantum mechanical states by the physical transformation g. Because of the invariance of 0 we have, 0 =
0 0

> = 0 |

>

> =
0

(()|

>

That is, U(g)| 0 > is again an eigenstate of 0 with the same eigenvalue 0 transform among themselves under the action of the group. They thus form a sub module in the complete space of eigenvectors and provide the basis of a representation of G. it could be that there is only one eigenstate with the given eigenvalue, in which case we speak of a non-degenerate level. The representation is then just the trivial representation. However, in many examples of physical interest there is more than one such eigenstate, in which case we speak of the level as being generate. In the latter case the action of the group on the space of degenerate states of the level induces an r-dimensional representation, where r is the number of degenerate eigenvectors. In general there is no reason to expect smaller invariant subspaces, which means that the representation will be irreducible. Thus a given energy level 0 will correspond to an irreducible representation , say, of G, and the degeneracy r will be just the dimensionality of . The level

can be labeled as , where comprises other labels not connected with the group.[5] An example which immediately springs to mind is the energy spectrum of a particle moving in a central potential. The symmetry group is the 3-dimensional rotation group SO(3)., whose irreducible representations, of dimension 2l+1, are labeled by the integer l associated with the angular part of the wave equation. The principle quantum number n, on the other hand, is associated with solutions of the radial equation. For a general potential U(r) the levels are distinct. However, in the most familiar problem of all, U=-k/r, there occurs the accidental degeneracy with l<n, giving a degeneracy = 2 . This additional degeneracy, which means that each level corresponds to a reducible representation of SO(3), arises from invariance of the 1/r potential under the larger group SO(4).[8] 2) Classification of spectral terms: If we are studying an atomic system, we must first find the symmetry group of the Hamiltonian, i.e., the set of transformations which leave the Hamiltonian invariant. The existence of a symmetry group for the system raises the possibility of degeneracy. If is an eigenfunction belonging to the energy , then is degenerate with (R is any element of the symmetry group G). Unless = C for all R, the level is degenerate. The eigenfunctions belonging to a given energy from the basis for representation of the group G. In most cases this representation will be irreducible. Only in rare cases, for very special choices of parameters, will we have accidental degeneracy, so that sets of functions belonging to different irreducible representations coincide in energy. It is clear that the partners who form the basis for one of the irreducible representations of G must be degenerate, since they are
4

(0)

(0)

(0)

(0)

transformed into one another by operations of the symmetry group. But two distinct sets of partners, and , even if they form bases for the same irreducible representation of G(= ), transformation only among themselves, and are not compelled by symmetry considerations to be degenerate with one another. So we may assume, in general, that the set of eigenfunctions belonging to a given energy are a set of partners, and form the basis for one of the irreducible representations of the symmetry group. This already tells us a great deal about the degree of degeneracy to be expected. For example, if we consider a system having the symmetry group O, the energy level of the system can only be single, or doubly or triply degenerate. The single levels will be of two types, depending on whether they belong to the representations 1 or2 . The eigenfunctions of these two types of simple levels differ in their behavior under the operations 4 and 2 . The doubly degenerate levels will all be of the same type, belonging to the two-dimensional representation E. finally, there will be two different types of triply degenerate levels belonging to the representations 1 and 2 . If we disregard possible accidental degeneracy, these are only possible level types. Though the labels which we use may appear strange, we are actually doing exactly what is done in Quantum-mechanical treatments-we are assigning two quantum numbers, and i, to each eigenfunction to describe its behavior under the operations of the point-symmetry group. In the same way, as we shall later see, when the symmetry group is the full rotation group, we assign quantum numbers to to characterize its behavior under rotation and inversion (by assigning it to the mth row of the lth irreducible representation). Thus the following level scheme might be typical for a system with symmetry O:
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In this diagram two levels are drawn which belong to the 1 representation. The fact that they are pictured as having different energies implies that the functions 1 1 and1 1 are linearly independent; if they were linearly related, they would necessarily have the same energy. Similarly, for the two levels labeled E, 1 2 are partners which transform according to E and are thus necessarily degenerate; 1 2 are also partners, but the s and s are linearly independent of one another.[3]

3) The solution of the Schrdinger equation:

One of the most valuable application of group theory is to the solution of the Schrdinger equation. Only for a small number of very simple systems, such as the hydrogen atom, is it possible to obtain an exact analytic solution. For all other systems it is necessary to resort to numerical calculations, but the work involved can be shortened considerably by the application of group representation theory. This is particularly true in electric energy band calculations in solid state
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physics, where accurate calculations are only feasible when group theoretical arguments are used to exploit the symmetry of the system to the full.[5] 4) The classification of a state of the systems of identical

particles:
One of the main problems of atomic and nuclear physics is the determination of identical (equivalent) particles. Since we cannot solve the problem for a system of interacting particles, we use the methods of perturbation theory. Each particle of the system is assumed to move in some averaged potential field. We determine the eigenstates for this average field and take, as basis functions for the full problem, products of the single-particle field plus the interactions among the particles. If the particles are identical, the interaction operator will be symmetric in all the particles. Consequently its matrix elements between basis functions will depend sensitively on the symmetry of these functions under interchange of particles.[6]

5) Nuclear structure:
Perturbation procedures similar to those for the many-electron problem can be applied to nuclei. The nuclear problem is complicated by the fact that the system is built up from two kinds of particles, neutrons and protons. (In addition, we have no definite knowledge of the nuclear interaction. The comparison of calculated and observed nuclear structures provides us with information concerning the nuclear
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Hamiltonian.) The neutron and proton have (approximately) the same mass and spin (s=1/2), and transform into each other in beta-decay. The neutron is neutral, while the proton has charge +e, so only the protons will be subjected to Coulomb forces. However, the coulomb forces are small compared to the specifically nuclear forces. In addition, the available experimental evidence shows that the specifically nuclear forces between two particles in the nucleus do not depend on whether the particles are neutrons or protons-the nuclear forces are chargeindependent. It is therefore useful to regard neutron and proton as state of a single fundamental entity which we call a nucleon.[7]

6) Nuclear spectra in L-S coupling: If the nuclear forces do not depend strongly on the spins, we can, as in the atomic problem, write the wave function as the product of an orbital function and a function of the spin and charge variables. The interaction Hamiltonian is symmetric in the space coordinates of the nucleons, so the orbital wave functions should be combined to give a total orbital function of definite symmetry. The energy of the state will depend critically on this symmetry. Since the nuclear forces are primarily attractive, the energy will be lowered if the symmetry of the orbital wave function is increased. Thus we may expect that the state whose orbital function has the highest symmetry will have the lowest energy. Since the total wave function of the system of identical nucleons is required by the Pauli principle to be completely anti symmetric, we must construct charge-spin functions of definite symmetry and obtain the total wave function by taking the product of
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the orbital function with a charge-spin function having the conjugate symmetry. Since the energy of the state is determined only by the orbital function, while the multiplicity depends on the charge-spin function, each energy level will be a supermultiplet.[9]

Conclusion:
The concept of symmetry plays very important role in daily life problems. Many physical systems are much complicated and still it is impossible to completely solve the problems. On the bases of the group theory the problem is reduced into groups by considering the symmetry and then it becomes easy to solve. Same principle is used to solve the Schrdinger equation and the most important applications are found in Quantum mechanics. In short the symmetry concept has made very easy to solve physical problems and its importance can also be seen in other fields.

References: 1) Arfken & Weber, Mathematical Methods For Physicists, Publisher, Elsevier Academic Press 2005. 2) Gene Dresselhaus,Group Theory Applications to the Physics of Condensed Matter, Publisher Springer 2007. 3) H. F. Jones, Groups, Representations and Physics, Publisher J W Arrow smith, 1998. 4) G. T. Hooft, Lie Groups in Physics, Publisher Mc Graw Hill, 2007.
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5) John S, A course on Group Theory, Publisher Syndics of the Cambridge University 1978. 6) J. F. Cornwell, Group Theory in Physics, Publisher Academic Press London 1997. 7) M. Hamermesh, Group Theory and its Applications to Physical Problems, Publisher Argonne National Laboratory 1959. 8) B. Baumslag Bruce C. Group Theory, Schaums Outline Series, Publisher Mc Graw Hill 1968. 9) Wu-Ki Tung, Group Theory in Physics, Publisher World Sceince Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd 1985.

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