(1 + 1) Newton–Hooke group for the simple and damped harmonic oscillator

Abstract

It is demonstrated that, in the framework of the orbit method, a simple and damped harmonic oscillator is indistinguishable at the level of an abstract Lie algebra. This opens a possibility for treating the dissipative systems within the orbit method. An in-depth analysis of the coadjoint orbits of the (1 + 1) dimensional Newton-Hooke group is presented. Furthermore, it is argued that the physical interpretation is carried by a specific realisation of the Lie algebra of smooth functions on a phase space rather than by an abstract Lie algebra.