Majorana fermion dynamics may arise at the edge of Kitaev wires or superconductors. Alternatively, it can be engineered by using trapped ions or ultracold atoms in an optical lattice as quantum simulators. This motivates the theoretical study of Majo
rana fermions confined to a finite volume, whose boundary conditions are characterized by self-adjoint extension parameters. While the boundary conditions for Dirac fermions in $(1+1)$-d are characterized by a 1-parameter family, $lambda = - lambda^*$, of self-adjoint extensions, for Majorana fermions $lambda$ is restricted to $pm i$. Based on this result, we compute the frequency spectrum of Majorana fermions confined to a 1-d interval. The boundary conditions for Dirac fermions confined to a 3-d region of space are characterized by a 4-parameter family of self-adjoint extensions, which is reduced to two distinct 1-parameter families for Majorana fermions. We also consider the problems related to the quantum mechanical interpretation of the Majorana equation as a single-particle equation. Furthermore, the equation is related to a relativistic Schrodinger equation that does not suffer from these problems.
The non-relativistic hydrogen atom enjoys an accidental $SO(4)$ symmetry, that enlarges the rotational $SO(3)$ symmetry, by extending the angular momentum algebra with the Runge-Lenz vector. In the relativistic hydrogen atom the accidental symmetry i
s partially lifted. Due to the Johnson-Lippmann operator, which commutes with the Dirac Hamiltonian, some degeneracy remains. When the non-relativistic hydrogen atom is put in a spherical cavity of radius $R$ with perfectly reflecting Robin boundary conditions, characterized by a self-adjoint extension parameter $gamma$, in general the accidental $SO(4)$ symmetry is lifted. However, for $R = (l+1)(l+2) a$ (where $a$ is the Bohr radius and $l$ is the orbital angular momentum) some degeneracy remains when $gamma = infty$ or $gamma = frac{2}{R}$. In the relativistic case, we consider the most general spherically and parity invariant boundary condition, which is characterized by a self-adjoint extension parameter. In this case, the remnant accidental symmetry is always lifted in a finite volume. We also investigate the accidental symmetry in the context of the Pauli equation, which sheds light on the proper non-relativistic treatment including spin. In that case, again some degeneracy remains for specific values of $R$ and $gamma$.
