Ambiguities in Quantizing a Classical System

Abstract

One classical theory, as determined by an equation of motion or set of classical trajectories, can correspond to many unitarily {\em in}equivalent quantum theories upon canonical quantization. This arises from a remarkable ambiguity, not previously investigated, in the construction of the classical (and hence the quantized) Hamiltonian or Lagrangian. This ambiguity is illustrated for systems with one degree of freedom: An arbitrary function of the constants of motion can be introduced into this construction. For example, the nonrelativistic and relativistic free particles follow identical classical trajectories, but the Hamiltonians or Lagrangians, and the canonically quantized versions of these descriptions, are inequivalent. Inequivalent descriptions of other systems, such as the harmonic oscillator, are also readily obtained.