Permutation Symmetry For Many Particles

Abstract

We consider the implications of the Revised Symmetrization Postulate (see quant-ph/9908078) for states of more than two particles. We show how to create permutation symmetric state vectors and how to derive alternative state vectors that may be asymmetric for any pair by creating asymmetric interdependencies in their state descriptions. Because we can choose any pair to create such an asymmetry, the usual generalized exclusion rules which result, apply simultaneously to any pair. However, we distinguish between simultaneous pairwise exclusion rules and the simultaneous pairwise anti-symmetry of the conventional symmetrization postulate. We show how to construct a variety of state vectors with multiple interdependencies in their state descriptions and various exchange asymmetries - including one which is anti-symmetric under exchange of two bosons - all without violating the spin-statistics theorem. We conjecture that it is possible to construct state vectors for arbitrary mixes of bosons and fermions that emulate the conventional symmetrization postulate in a limited way and give examples. We also prove that it is not possible to define a single state vector that simultaneously obeys the conventional symmetrization postulate in its standard form (in which the exchange phase does not depend on the spins of additional particles that are present) for every pair that can be interchanged.