The Cayley–Menger factorization conjecture for the radial metric determinant

Let M=n(n1)2M=\frac{n(n-1)}{2} and let gμνg^{\mu\nu} be the contravariant metric matrix formed by the second-order coefficients of the radial operator Δrad\Delta_{\rm rad} in the variables ρij\rho_{ij}. Define

cn(m)=c1c2cn1m1+m2++mn(m1m2mn)2,ck=2k(k!)2.c_n(m)=c_1c_2\cdots c_{n-1}\,\frac{m_1+m_2+\cdots+m_n}{(m_1m_2\cdots m_n)^2},\qquad c_k=2^k(k!)^2.

Let V~n2\widetilde V_n^2 be the squared volume of the interaction polytope, and let V~nk2\widetilde V_{n-k}^2 denote the corresponding weighted sums of squared face volumes, with V~12=1\widetilde V_1^2=1 and V~n2=Vn2\widetilde V_n^2=V_n^2.

Cayley–Menger factorization conjecture. The determinant detgμν\det g^{\mu\nu} is homogeneous of degree MM in the MM variables ρij\rho_{ij} and factors as

detgμν=cn(m)F1F2,\det g^{\mu\nu}=c_n(m)F_1F_2,

where F1=V~n2F_1=\widetilde V_n^2 has degree n1n-1, while F2F_2 has degree (n1)(n2)2\frac{(n-1)(n-2)}{2}, is a polynomial in the weighted face-volume variables, depends effectively on n1n-1 such polynomial variables, and satisfies F20F_2\geq0.

The factorization was checked for n=2,3,4n=2,3,4 with arbitrary masses and for n=5,6n=5,6 with equal masses, but the general claim remains unresolved in the supplied text.

Sources & referencesView supporting material

Primary source

Willard Miller,, Alexander V. Turbiner and M Adrian Escobar Ruiz, “The quantum n-body problem in dimension dn-1: ground state”, arXiv:1709.01108 (2017).

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