Bôcher and Abstract Contractions of 2nd Order Quadratic Algebras

• Date: 2017
• Main Authors: Escobar Ruiz, M.A., Kalnins, E.G., Miller Jr., W., Subag, E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Інститут математики НАН України 2017
• Series: Symmetry, Integrability and Geometry: Methods and Applications
• Online Access: https://nasplib.isofts.kiev.ua/handle/123456789/148617
• Journal Title: Digital Library of Periodicals of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
• Cite this: Bôcher and Abstract Contractions of 2nd Order Quadratic Algebras / M.A. Escobar Ruiz, E.G. Kalnins, W. Miller Jr., E. Suba // Symmetry, Integrability and Geometry: Methods and Applications. — 2017. — Т. 13. — Бібліогр.: 37 назв. — англ.

Quadratic algebras are generalizations of Lie algebras which include the symmetry algebras of 2nd order superintegrable systems in 2 dimensions as special cases. The superintegrable systems are exactly solvable physical systems in classical and quantum mechanics. Distinct superintegrable systems and their quadratic algebras can be related by geometric contractions, induced by Bôcher contractions of the conformal Lie algebra so(4,C) to itself. In this paper we give a precise definition of Bôcher contractions and show how they can be classified. They subsume well known contractions of e(2,C) and so(3,C) and have important physical and geometric meanings, such as the derivation of the Askey scheme for obtaining all hypergeometric orthogonal polynomials as limits of Racah/Wilson polynomials. We also classify abstract nondegenerate quadratic algebras in terms of an invariant that we call a canonical form. We describe an algorithm for finding the canonical form of such algebras. We calculate explicitly all canonical forms arising from quadratic algebras of 2D nondegenerate superintegrable systems on constant curvature spaces and Darboux spaces. We further discuss contraction of quadratic algebras, focusing on those coming from superintegrable systems.