Journal of High Energy Physics (Apr 2020)

Hidden symmetry and (super)conformal mechanics in a monopole background

  • Luis Inzunza,
  • Mikhail S. Plyushchay,
  • Andreas Wipf

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP04(2020)028
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 2020, no. 4
pp. 1 – 43

Abstract

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Abstract We study classical and quantum hidden symmetries of a particle with electric charge e in the background of a Dirac monopole of magnetic charge g subjected to an additional central potential V (r) = U (r) + (eg)2 /2mr 2 with U (r) = 1 2 $$ \frac{1}{2} $$ mω 2 r 2, similar to that in the one-dimensional conformal mechanics model of de Alfaro, Fubini and Furlan (AFF). By means of a non-unitary conformal bridge transformation, we establish a relation of the quantum states and of all symmetries of the system with those of the system without harmonic trap, U (r) = 0. Introducing spin degrees of freedom via a very special spin-orbit coupling, we construct the sop $$ \mathfrak{sop} $$ (2|2) superconformal extension of the system with unbroken N $$ \mathcal{N} $$ = 2 Poincaré supersymmetry and show that two different superconformal extensions of the one-dimensional AFF model with unbroken and spontaneously broken supersymmetry have a common origin. We also show a universal relationship between the dynamics of a Euclidean particle in an arbitrary central potential U (r) and the dynamics of a charged particle in a monopole background subjected to the potential V (r).

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