Linked Questions

1 vote
1 answer
312 views

Energy conservation Hamiltonian dependency [duplicate]

Suppose the a system has a Hamiltonian $H = H(q,p)$, and suppose $H$ does not depend explicitly on time. If $H\neq E$ the total energy of the system, does this necessarily say that $E$ is not ...
JonTrav1's user avatar
  • 980
74 votes
6 answers
56k views

When is the Hamiltonian of a system not equal to its total energy?

I thought the Hamiltonian was always equal to the total energy of a system but have read that this isn't always true. Is there an example of this and does the Hamiltonian have a physical ...
Noah's user avatar
  • 1,820
11 votes
5 answers
12k views

Bead on a rotating hoop: Hamiltonian is conserved, but is not the total mechanical energy

Consider a bead (mass $m$) on a frictionless hoop (radius $R$) in the presence of gravity. The hoop is spun around an axis parallel to the gravitational acceleration at constant angular speed ($\omega$...
dannycab's user avatar
  • 119
11 votes
2 answers
3k views

Why is the Hamiltonian zero in relativity?

I'm trying to understand something with the lagrangian and the hamiltonian formalisms in relativity theory, and why the following result cannot be the same in classical (non-relativistic) mechanics. ...
Cham's user avatar
  • 7,677
12 votes
1 answer
3k views

What is a gauge theory?

Please note that I just read about 20 forum discussions, none of which answered my question. This question is related to my earlier question Is spacetime symmetry a gauge symmetry?. I am looking for ...
Adomas Baliuka's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
818 views

Is it obvious that the Hamiltonian observable in Quantum Mechanics should also be the Energy observable?

In Quantum Mechanics, the Hamiltonian observable is defined as the generator of time translations. It's easy to show that if we take this to be the definition of the Hamiltonian, then it is of the ...
Nameless Paladin's user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
206 views

Can you find a physical system with $T=-V$?

Can you find a physical system with $T=-V$, with $T$ the kinetic energy and $V$ the potential energy, i.e., $H=0$ for the system? (Not for a point of time but for the whole time.) What about $L=\...
Love Grover's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
470 views

Why is the Hamiltonian of a photon = 0?

I'm studying the motion of light near Schwarzschild black holes, and I was wondering why the Hamiltonian of the Schwarzschild metric $$H = - \left( 1-\frac{2M}{r} \right)^{-1} \frac{p_{t}^2}{2}+\left(...
poissonrouge's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
554 views

Is the Wheeler deWitt equation consistent with the holographic principle?

In this paper by Sean Carroll (What if Time Really Exists), there's a section "Lessons from Duality" where he says that the holographic principle (and in particular, that a lower dimensional non-...
reductionista's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
329 views

What is energy in quantum mechanics?

Is it wrong to say energy is the expectation value of Hamiltonian? Or should I say energy is the eigenvalue of Hamiltonian?
gumiho's user avatar
  • 33
0 votes
2 answers
304 views

Is $H = T + U$ for a pendulum on a circle movement?

I have this problem: Obtain Hamilton's equations of motion for a plane pendulum of length $l$ with mass point $m$ whose radius of suspension rotates uniformally on the circumference of a vertical ...
Angel Octavio Parada Flores's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
307 views

Canonical momentum not observable vs energy is observable

I have seen explanations that canonical momentum for charged particles $p = mv + qA/c$ is not a measurable quantity/observable because it is not gauge invariant. However, there are many quantities ...
suncup224's user avatar
  • 850
2 votes
0 answers
261 views

Is expectation value of the Hamiltonian always the energy? [duplicate]

There are time dependent & space dependent systems (magnetic fields) and time independent (particle in a box or harmonic oscillator). In the latter the expectation value is the 'average' energy ...
Cleo's user avatar
  • 359
2 votes
0 answers
222 views

Imaginary part of complex non-Hermitian Hamiltonians

I have just started studying the $PT$-symmetric and non-hermitian hamiltonians. But I am not able to interpret the imaginary part of the hamiltonian. If Hamiltonian is basically the total energy of ...
user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
193 views

The problem of time in classical general relativity

It is well known that the Hamiltonian of General Relativity is a linear combination of constraints. This poses a challenge in quantum gravity. If a state $\psi$ solves the constraints ($\hat C_\alpha \...
Thorstein's user avatar
  • 155

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