The B₂ Harmonic Oscillator with Reflections and Superintegrability

Abstract

The two-dimensional quantum harmonic oscillator is modified with reflection terms associated with the action of the Coxeter group B₂, which is the symmetry group of the square. The angular momentum operator is also modified with reflections. The wavefunctions are known to be built up from Jacobi and Laguerre polynomials. This paper introduces a fourth-order differential-difference operator commuting with the Hamiltonian but not with the angular momentum operator; a specific instance of superintegrability. The action of the operator on the usual orthogonal basis of wavefunctions is explicitly described. The wavefunctions are classified according to the representations of the group: four of degree one and one of degree two. The identity representation encompasses the wavefunctions invariant under the group. The paper begins with a short discussion of the modified Hamiltonians associated to finite reflection groups, and related raising and lowering operators. In particular, the Hamiltonian for the symmetric groups describes the Calogero-Sutherland model of identical particles on the line with harmonic confinement.