[Physics] Interpreting the commutators of the Poincare generators

commutatorlorentz-symmetryquantum mechanicsspecial-relativitysymmetry

Suppose we have the usual commutators ($J$=Angular Momentum, $P$=Momentum, $K$=Boosts, $H$=Hamiltonian.)
$$
[J_i,J_j]=i\epsilon_{ijk}J_k\quad[J_i,K_j]=i\epsilon_{ijk}K_k\quad[J_i,P_j]=i\epsilon_{ijk}P_k.
$$
and that
$$
[K_i,H]=iP_i.
$$
A professor has said that the first three relations state that $\vec J,\vec K,\vec P$ are 3-vectors and that they rotate under spatial rotations. And that the interpretation of the fourth is that if we boost energy, we get momentum.

Can anybody give the chain of logical statements, beginning with these commutators, that leads to these interpretations? This has had me confused for over a year…

Best Answer

Under a linear transformation $T$ of the vector space, operators $O$ on it transform as $O\mapsto TOT^\dagger$. Since by definition the $J_i$ are the infinitesimal generators of rotation as $R(\phi) = \mathrm{e}^{\mathrm{i}J_i\phi}$, the finite rotation $\mathrm{e}^{\mathrm{i}J_i \phi}O\mathrm{e}^{-\mathrm{i}J_i\phi}$ implies that the infinitesimal change of any observable under rotation is $[J_i,O]$. (This follows by Taylor expanding the exponentials and keeping only the term to first order in $\phi$.)

So the commutation relations of the form $[J_i,O]$ tell you how $O$ changes under rotation.

The exact same reasoning goes through for the infinitesimal generators $K_i$ of the Lorentz boosts, so $[K_i,H]$ is the infinitesimal change of energy under a boost.