Rotating frames and gauge invariance in three-dimensional many-body quantum systems

Abstract

We study the quantization of many-body systems in three dimensions in rotating coordinate frames using a gauge invariant formulation of the dynamics. We consider reference frames defined by linear gauge conditions, and discuss their Gribov ambiguities and commutator algebra. We construct the momentum operators, inner-product and Hamiltonian in those gauges, for systems with and without translation invariance. The analogy with the quantization of non-Abelian Yang-Mills theories in non-covariant gauges is emphasized. Our results are applied to quasi-rigid systems in the Eckart frame.