Towards quantum mechanics on the curved cotangent bundle

Abstract

The minimal-length paradigm is a cornerstone of quantum gravity phenomenology. Recently, it has been demonstrated that minimal-length quantum mechanics can alternatively be described as an undeformed theory set on a nontrivial momentum space. However, there is no fully consistent formulation of these theories beyond Cartesian coordinates in flat space and, in particular, no position representation. This paper is intended to take the first steps in bridging this gap. We find a natural position representation of the position and momentum operators on general curved cotangent bundles. In an expansion akin to Riemann normal coordinates with curvature in both position and momentum space, we apply the formalism perturbatively to the isotropic harmonic oscillator and the hydrogenic atom. Due to the symmetry of the harmonic oscillator under exchange of positions and momenta, we show that it is impossible to distinguish position- from momentum-space curvature with oscillators alone. Thus, we obtain an instantiation of Born reciprocity on the curved cotangent bundle, i.e. in precisely the way Born originally envisioned. It manifests itself as a symmetry mixing UV and IR physics, reminiscent of T-duality in string theory.