Classification of Commutator Algebras Leading to the New Type of Closed Baker-Campbell-Hausdorff Formulas

TL;DR

This paper classifies 13 types of commutator algebras that enable new closed-form solutions of the Baker-Campbell-Hausdorff formula, expanding understanding of algebraic structures in exponential operator products.

Contribution

It introduces a classification of commutator algebras leading to new BCH formulas and provides an algorithm to derive these forms based on algebraic equations and the Jacobi identity.

Findings

Identified 13 algebraic types allowing closed BCH forms

Derived algebraic equations for the decomposition parameter

Found rational solutions in nine algebraic types

Abstract

We show that there are {\it 13 types} of commutator algebras leading to the new closed forms of the Baker-Campbell-Hausdorff (BCH) formula $$\exp(X)\exp(Y)\exp(Z)=\exp({AX+BZ+CY+DI}) \ , $$ derived in arXiv:1502.06589, JHEP {\bf 1505} (2015) 113. This includes, as a particular case, $\exp(X) \exp(Z)$, with $[X,Z]$ containing other elements in addition to $X$ and $Z$. The algorithm exploits the associativity of the BCH formula and is based on the decomposition $\exp(X)\exp(Y)\exp(Z)=\exp(X)\exp({\alpha Y}) \exp({(1-\alpha) Y}) \exp(Z)$, with $\alpha$ fixed in such a way that it reduces to $\exp({\tilde X})\exp({\tilde Y})$, with $\tilde X$ and $\tilde Y$ satisfying the Van-Brunt and Visser condition $[\tilde X,\tilde Y]=\tilde u\tilde X+\tilde v\tilde Y+\tilde cI$. It turns out that $e^\alpha$ satisfies, in the generic case, an algebraic equation whose exponents depend on the parameters defining the commutator algebra. In nine {\it types} of commutator algebras, such an equation leads to rational solutions for $\alpha$. We find all the equations that characterize the solution of the above decomposition problem by combining it with the Jacobi identity.