Abstract
Classically, angular momentum may be thought of as the Hamiltonian generator of rotations (Proposition 2.30). Angular momentum is a particularly useful concept when a system has rotational symmetry, since in that case the angular momentum is a conserved quantity (Proposition 2.18). Quantum mechanically, angular momentum is still the “generator”of rotations, meaning that it is the infinitesimal generator of a one-parameter group of unitary rotation operators, in the sense of Stone’s theorem (Theorem 10.15).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
G.B. Folland, A Course in Abstract Harmonic Analysis (CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 1995)
B.C. Hall, Lie Groups, Lie Algebras, and Representations: An Elementary Introduction. Graduate Texts in Mathematics, vol. 222 (Springer, New York, 2003)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Hall, B.C. (2013). Angular Momentum and Spin. In: Quantum Theory for Mathematicians. Graduate Texts in Mathematics, vol 267. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7116-5_17
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7116-5_17
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-7115-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-7116-5
eBook Packages: Mathematics and StatisticsMathematics and Statistics (R0)