The complete symmetry group of a forced harmonic oscillator

Abstract

AbstractThe complete symmetry group of a forced harmonic oscillator is shown to be Sl(3, R) in the one-dimensional case. Approaching the problem through the Hamiltonian invariants and the method of extended Lie groups, the method used is that of time-dependent point transformations. The result applies equally well to the forced repulsive oscillator and a particle moving under the influence of a coordinate-free force. The generalization to na-dimensional systems is discussed.