SciPost Submission Page
Classical Mechanics on Finite Spaces
by Kaustav Giri, V. V. Sreedhar
Submission summary
| Authors (as registered SciPost users): | Kaustav Giri |
| Submission information | |
|---|---|
| Preprint Link: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.15231v1 (pdf) |
| Date submitted: | Oct. 29, 2025, 10:10 a.m. |
| Submitted by: | Kaustav Giri |
| Submitted to: | SciPost Physics |
| Ontological classification | |
|---|---|
| Academic field: | Physics |
| Specialties: |
|
| Approach: | Theoretical |
Abstract
The connection between topology and quantum mechanics is one of the cornerstones of modern physics. Several examples of current interest like the Aharonov-Bohm effect in quantum mechanics, monopoles and instantons in quantum field theory, the quantum Hall effect in condensed matter physics, anyons in topological quantum computation, and the AdS-CFT correspondence in string theory illustrate this connection. Since classical mechanics is a limiting case of quantum mechanics, it behooves us to ask how topology impacts classical mechanics. Topological considerations do play an important role in the classical context too, for example in fluid vortices and atmospheric dynamics. With a desire to understand this connection more deeply, we study classical mechanics on finite spaces. Towards this end, we use the formalism developed by Bering and identify the corrections to the Klein-Gordon equation due to the presence of the boundary. We solve the modified equation in various dimensions under suitable assumptions of symmetry.
Author indications on fulfilling journal expectations
- Provide a novel and synergetic link between different research areas.
- Open a new pathway in an existing or a new research direction, with clear potential for multi-pronged follow-up work
- Detail a groundbreaking theoretical/experimental/computational discovery
- Present a breakthrough on a previously-identified and long-standing research stumbling block
