Heisenberg group by 90°. The other reflections are "xyx" and "yxy", and rotation by 180° is "xyxy" (="yxyx"). The Lie algebra formula_16 of the Heisenberg group formula_1 (over the real numbers) is the space of formula_18 matrices of the form with formula_20. The following three elements form a basis for formula_16: The basis elements satisfy the commutation relations: The name "Heisenberg group" is motivated by the preceding relations, which have the same form as the canonical commutation relations in quantum mechanics: where formula_25 is the position operator, formula_26 is the momentum operator, and formula_27 is Planck's constant. The Heisenberg group formula_1 has
Spin (physics) do so. The study of the behavior of such "spin models" is a thriving area of research in condensed matter physics. For instance, the Ising model describes spins (dipoles) that have only two possible states, up and down, whereas in the Heisenberg model the spin vector is allowed to point in any direction. These models have many interesting properties, which have led to interesting results in the theory of phase transitions. In classical mechanics, the angular momentum of a particle possesses not only a magnitude (how fast the body is rotating), but also a direction (either up or down on