Polynomial algebras from su(3) and a quadratically superintegrable model on the two sphere

Abstract

Construction of superintegrable systems based on Lie algebras have been introduced over the years. However, these approaches depend on explicit realisations, for instance as a differential operators, of the underlying Lie algebra. This is also the case for the construction of their related symmetry algebra which take usually the form of a finitely generated quadratic algebra. These algebras often display structure constants which depend on the central elements and in particular on the Hamiltonian. In this paper, we develop a new approach reexamining the quadratically superintegrable system on the two-sphere for which a symmetry algebra is known to be the Racah algebra R(3). Such a model is related to the 59 two dimensional quadratically superintegrable systems on conformally flat spaces via contractions and limits. We demonstrate that using further polynomials of degree 2, 3 and 4 in the enveloping algebra of su(3) one can generate an algebra based only on abstract commutation relations of su(3) Lie algebra without explicit constraints on the representations or realisations. This construction relies on the maximal Abelian subalgebra, also called MASA, which are the Cartan generators and their commutant. We obtain a new six-dimensional cubic algebra where the structure constant are integer numbers which reduce from a quartic algebra for which the structure constant depend on the Cartan generator and the Casimir invariant. We also present other form of the symmetry algebra using the quadratic and cubic Casimir invariants of su(3). It reduces as the known quadratic Racah algebra R(3) only when using an explicit realization. This algebraic structure describes the symmetry of the quadratically superintegrable systems on the 2 sphere. We also present a contraction to another six-dimensional cubic algebra which would corresponding to the symmetry algebra of a Smorodinsky–Winternitz model.