Superintegrability on N-dimensional spaces of constant curvature from so(N + 1) and its contractions

Abstract

The Lie—Poisson algebra so(N + 1) and some of its contractions are used to construct a family of superintegrable Hamiltonians on the N-dimensional spherical, Euclidean, hyperbolic, Minkowskian, and (anti-)de Sitter spaces. We firstly present a Hamiltonian which is a superposition of an arbitrary central potential with N arbitrary centrifugal terms. Such a system is quasi-maximally superintegrable since this is endowed with 2N — 3 functionally independent constants of motion (plus the Hamiltonian). Secondly, we identify two maximally superintegrable Hamiltonians by choosing a specific central potential and finding at the same time the remaining integral. The former is the generalization of the Smorodinsky—Winternitz system to the above six spaces, while the latter is a generalization of the Kepler—Coulomb potential, for which the Laplace—Runge—Lenz N vector is also given. All the systems and constants of motion are explicitly expressed in a unified form in terms of ambient and polar coordinates as they are parametrized by two contraction parameters (curvature and signature of the metric).