B\^ocher Contractions of Conformally Superintegrable Laplace Equations

TL;DR

This paper explores how Bôcher's classical method of coalescing roots of quadratic forms induces contractions of the conformal algebra, providing a framework to classify and understand limits of superintegrable Laplace systems.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach using Bôcher's root coalescing technique to understand algebra contractions in conformally superintegrable systems, extending the classification of these systems.

Findings

Bôcher's root coalescing induces algebra contractions.

Provides a classification scheme for superintegrable systems.

Connects classical root methods with modern algebraic structures.

Abstract

The explicit solvability of quantum superintegrable systems is due to symmetry, but the symmetry is often "hidden". The symmetry generators of 2nd order superintegrable systems in 2 dimensions close under commutation to define quadratic algebras, a generalization of Lie algebras. Distinct systems on constant curvature spaces are related by geometric limits, induced by generalized In\"on\"u-Wigner Lie algebra contractions of the symmetry algebras of the underlying spaces. These have physical/geometric implications, such as the Askey scheme for hypergeometric orthogonal polynomials. However, the limits have no satisfactory Lie algebra contraction interpretations for underlying spaces with 1- or 0-dimensional Lie algebras. We show that these systems can be best understood by transforming them to Laplace conformally superintegrable systems, with flat space conformal symmetry group ${\rm SO}(4,{\mathbb C})$, and using ideas introduced in the 1894 thesis of B\^ocher to study separable solutions of the wave equation in terms of roots of quadratic forms. We show that B\^ocher's prescription for coalescing roots of these forms induces contractions of the conformal algebra $\mathfrak{so}(4,{\mathbb C})$ to itself and yields a mechanism for classifying all Helmholtz superintegrable systems and their limits. In the paper [Acta Polytechnica, to appear, arXiv:1510.09067], we announced our main findings. This paper provides the proofs and more details.