Hermitian and gauge-covariant Hamiltonians for a particle in a magnetic field on cylindrical and spherical surfaces

Abstract

We construct the Hermitian Schrödinger Hamiltonian of spin-less particles and the gauge-covariant Pauli Hamiltonian of spin one-half particles in a magnetic field, which are confined to cylindrical and spherical surfaces. The approach does not require the use of involved differential-geometrical methods and is intuitive and physical, relying on the general requirements of Hermicity and gauge-covariance. The surfaces are embedded in the full three-dimensional space and confinement to the surfaces is achieved by strong radial potentials. We identify the Hermitian and gauge-covariant (in the presence of a magnetic field) physical radial momentum in each case and set it to zero upon confinement to the surfaces. The resulting surface Hamiltonians are seen to be automatically Hermitian and gauge-covariant. The well-known geometrical kinetic energy also emerges naturally.