Factorization Properties of Finite Spaces

In 1960 Schwinger [J. Schwinger, Proc.Natl.Acad.Sci. 46 (1960) 570- 579] proposed the algorithm for factorization of unitary operators in the finite M dimensional Hilbert space according to a coprime decomposition of M. Using a special permutation operator A we generalize the Schwinger factorization to every decomposition of M. We obtain the factorized pairs of unitary operators and show that they obey the same commutation relations as Schwingers. We apply the new factorization to two problems. First, we show how to generate two kq-like mutually unbiased bases for any composite dimension. Then, using a Harper-like Hamiltonian model in the finite dimension M = M1M2, we show how to design a physical system with M1 energy levels, each having degeneracy M2.

Classical limit of the Casimir entropy for scalar massless field

We study the Casimir effect at finite temperature for a massless scalar field in the parallel plates geometry in N spatial dimensions, under various combinations of Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions on the plates. We show that in all these cases the entropy, in the limit where energy equipartitioning applies, is a geometrical factor whose sign determines the sign of the Casimir force.