Quantum mechanics as a generalization of Nambu dynamics to the Weyl-Wigner formalism

Abstract It is shown that Nambu dynamics can be generalized to any number of dimensions by replacing the O(3) algebra, a prominent feature of Nambu's formulation, by an arbitrary Lie algebra. For the infinite dimensional algebra of rotations in phase space one obtains quantum mechanics in the Weyl-Wigner representation from the generalized Nambu dynamics. Also, this formulation can be cast into a canonical Hamiltonian form by a natural choice of canonically conjugate variables.