Lax pairs and $r$-matrices for some two-dimensional isotropic oscillators

This paper concerns Lax pairs for circularly symmetric harmonic, Fock-Darwin-type and quartic anharmonic oscillators in two dimensions.

Although the 2d isotropic harmonic oscillator is bi-Hamiltonian, its recursion operator does not lead to a Lax pair, nor do we obtain such a pair by taking a limit of the harmonic Calogero model.

On the other hand, we show that this superintegrable harmonic oscillator admits a $4 \times 4$ block-form Lax pair with spectral parameter giving two conserved mode energies in involution and a corresponding dynamical $r$-matrix.

Interestingly, we also find $2 \times 2$ Lax pairs with spectral parameter that give all three independent conserved quantities satisfying a nonabelian Poisson algebra, thereby providing a simple example of a Lax pair whose conserved quantities are not all in involution.

Next, we construct a family of $su(2)$ Lax pairs and $r$-matrices for the quadratic+quartic isotropic anharmonic oscillator.

This is then extended to an isotropic oscillator with a rotational energy, which may be viewed as the Fock-Darwin oscillator with a quartic potential.

With a change of variables, these Lax pairs and $r$-matrices also apply to the Rajeev-Ranken model, although its noncanonical Poisson structure is distinct from that of the anharmonic oscillator.