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TheCanadian
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If ##A## and ##B## are two operators that commute (i.e. [##A##,##B##] = 0), does that indicate if ##A^m## and ## B^n## more generally commute where m and n are not necessarily non-negative integers?
fresh_42 said:What does it mean, that ##[A,B]=0##?
Yep. So ##AB = BA##, i.e. you can pull one or many ##B## through how many ever ##A##'s there are, step by step.TheCanadian said:AB - BA = 0
fresh_42 said:Yep. So ##AB = BA##, i.e. you can pull one or many ##B## through how many ever ##A##'s there are, step by step.
Edit: I don't know how it is for negative exponents since there must first be defined an inverse. There probably have to be made some assumptions on convergence, too.
Edt2: I think I got it. Let ##C = B A^{-1}##, i.e. ##B=CA##. Then ##AB = ACA = BA = CA^2##.
Thus ##ABA^{-1} = CA = B## or ##BA^{-1} = A^{-1}B##.
Interesting question. At the moment I'm not sure how to define them in a rigorous manner other than, e.g. ##A^3 = B^2## and then apply the tricks above. What would ##A^{e}## be? Probably a convergent Taylor series or something like that in which case crossing to the limits has to be considered.TheCanadian said:Thank you for the reply. That helps a lot. One of the other cases I was wondering about was decimals. Does raising two operators to different fractions alter the operators in such a way they no longer commute?
fresh_42 said:What would ##A^{e}## be?
The solution of ##e \cdot \ln{A} = \ln{x} ## with all terms defined by their Taylor series.George Jones said:First, what would ##A^{e}## be when ##A## is a positive real number?
To define ##X = A^{\frac{1}{2}}## is rather edgy, isn't it?Strilanc said:An easy counter-example via the Pauli matrices not commuting and being their own inverse. Not sure if you'll consider it cheating.
Note that:
##[X, Z] = 2iY##
##[X^2, Z^2] = [I, I] = 0##
##I## has many square roots, ##X## and ##Z## among them. We can pick different ones for ##A## and ##B## when setting ##A=B=I##. So ##[A, B] = [I, I] = 0## but ##[A^{\frac{1}{2}}, B^{\frac{1}{2}}] = [X, Z] = 2iY##.
I guess technically ##[A^{\frac{1}{2}}, B^{\frac{1}{2}}]## is not really well defined here. It's a multi-valued function, but some of those values aren't 0.
It might still be the case if we restrict ourselves to the principle powers of a matrix. Require that ##A^x## be interpreted as raising its eigenvalues to ##x##. Further require that ##(e^{i y})^x## only allows the ##e^{i x y} = \cos(x y) + i \sin(x y)## solution. Not so sure in that case.
fresh_42 said:To define ##X = A^{\frac{1}{2}}## is rather edgy, isn't it?
I think that is the crucial point. One has to define the algebraic structure first in which the operations "live". Thus one can distinguish between what makes sense and what doesn't. (At least this has been the first time I've read about a Pauli matrix being a square root. But why not. As a ##ℂ##-basis of the ring ##ℂ^{2 \times 2}## ...)Strilanc said:If you want to restrict yourself to a specific matrix or a subset of matrices out of the set of satisfying results, you need to pick a rule for doing that and specify it.
The concept of generalizing commutators involves extending the definition of commutators, which are mathematical objects used to measure the degree to which two elements in a mathematical structure do not commute. This generalization often involves expanding the scope of what elements can be used to form a commutator and how they are combined.
Generalizing commutators allows for a deeper understanding of mathematical structures and their properties. It also allows for the application of commutators in a wider range of contexts, leading to new insights and discoveries in mathematics.
Lie algebras are mathematical structures that involve operations similar to commutators. In fact, Lie algebras are a specific type of algebra that can be defined using commutators. Generalizing commutators can provide a way to extend the concept of Lie algebras to other mathematical structures.
Yes, the concept of generalizing commutators can be applied to other fields such as physics and computer science. In physics, generalizing commutators can be used to study the behavior of quantum systems, while in computer science, they can be used to analyze the performance of algorithms.
As with any mathematical concept, there may be limitations to the extent to which commutators can be generalized. It is important to carefully consider the properties and implications of any generalization to ensure its validity and usefulness in a specific context.