A1.17

Symmetries and Groups in Physics | Part II, 2001

(i) Let h:GGh: G \rightarrow G^{\prime} be a surjective homomorphism between two groups, GG and GG^{\prime}. If D:GGL(Cn)D^{\prime}: G^{\prime} \rightarrow G L\left(\mathbb{C}^{n}\right) is a representation of GG^{\prime}, show that D(g)=D(h(g))D(g)=D^{\prime}(h(g)) for gGg \in G is a representation of GG and, if DD^{\prime} is irreducible, show that DD is also irreducible. Show further that D~(g~)=D(h~(g~))\widetilde{D}(\widetilde{g})=D^{\prime}(\widetilde{h}(\widetilde{g})) is a representation of G/ker(h)G / \operatorname{ker}(h), where h~(g~)=h(g)\tilde{h}(\widetilde{g})=h(g) for gGg \in G and g~G/ker(h)\widetilde{g} \in G / \operatorname{ker}(h) (with gg~g \in \widetilde{g} ). Deduce that the characters χ,χ~,χ\chi, \widetilde{\chi}, \chi^{\prime} of D,D~,DD, \widetilde{D}, D^{\prime}, respectively, satisfy

χ(g)=χ~(g~)=χ(h(g))\chi(g)=\tilde{\chi}(\widetilde{g})=\chi^{\prime}(h(g))

(ii) D4D_{4} is the symmetry group of rotations and reflections of a square. If cc is a rotation by π/2\pi / 2 about the centre of the square and bb is a reflection in one of its symmetry axes, then D4={e,c,c2,c3,b,bc,bc2,bc3}D_{4}=\left\{e, c, c^{2}, c^{3}, b, b c, b c^{2}, b c^{3}\right\}. Given that the conjugacy classes are {e}{c2},{c,c3}\{e\}\left\{c^{2}\right\},\left\{c, c^{3}\right\} {b,bc2}\left\{b, b c^{2}\right\} and {bc,bc3}\left\{b c, b c^{3}\right\} derive the character table of D4D_{4}.

Let H0H_{0} be the Hamiltonian of a particle moving in a central potential. The SO(3)S O(3) symmetry ensures that the energy eigenvalues of H0H_{0} are the same for all the angular momentum eigenstates in a given irreducible SO(3)S O(3) representation. Therefore, the energy eigenvalues of H0H_{0} are labelled EnlE_{n l} with nNn \in \mathbb{N} and lN0,l<nl \in \mathbb{N}_{0}, l<n. Assume now that in a crystal the symmetry is reduced to a D4D_{4} symmetry by an additional term H1H_{1} of the total Hamiltonian, H=H0+H1H=H_{0}+H_{1}. Find how the H0H_{0} eigenstates in the SO(3)S O(3) irreducible representation with l=2l=2 (the D-wave orbital) decompose into irreducible representations of HH. You may assume that the character, g(θ)g(\theta), of a group element of SO(3)S O(3), in a representation labelled by ll is given by

χ(gθ)=1+2cosθ+2cos(2θ)++2cos(lθ)\chi\left(g_{\theta}\right)=1+2 \cos \theta+2 \cos (2 \theta)+\ldots+2 \cos (l \theta)

where θ\theta is a rotation angle and l(l+1)l(l+1) is the eigenvalue of the total angular momentum, L2\mathbf{L}^{2}.

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