The $SO_q(N,{\bf R})$-Symmetric Harmonic Oscillator on the Quantum Euclidean Space ${\bf R}_q^N$ and its Hilbert Space Structure

Abstract

We show that the isotropic harmonic oscillator in the ordinary euclidean space ${\bf R}^N$ ($N\ge 3$) admits a natural q-deformation into a new quantum mechanical model having a q-deformed symmetry (in the sense of quantum groups), $SO_q(N,{\bf R})$. The q-deformation is the consequence of replacing $ R^N$ by ${\bf R}^N_q$ (the corresponding quantum space). This provides an example of quantum mechanics on a noncommutative geometrical space. To reach the goal, we also have to deal with a sensible definition of integration over ${\bf R}^N_q$, which we use for the definition of the scalar product of states.