 |
Center for Nonlinear Studies |
Although one can give physical meaning to the relative momentum of a pair of identical particles, there has been no mathematical object that conveys that meaning. Because of the equivalence of the particles, such an object cannot be an ordinary vector. Moreover, when an appropriate Hilbert space operator is defined, it does not fit into von Neumann's scheme featuring self-adjointness. As far as I know, there is no physics at stake here; rather the concern is identifying the mathematical objects that can characterize the physical world.
Host: Adolfo del Campo, T-4 and CNLS