Quantization in Cartesian coordinates and the Hofer metric

Abstract

Dirac stated that the Cartesian coordinates are uniquely suited for expressing the canonical commutation relations in a simple form. By contrast, expressing these commutation relations in any other coordinate system is more complicated and less obvious. The question that we address in this work is the reason why this is true. We claim that this unique role of the Cartesian coordinates is a result of the existence and uniqueness of the Hofer metric on the space of canonical transformations of the phase space of the system getting quantized.