Invariance of the Kohn center-of-mass mode in a conserving theory

The center-of-mass (c.m.) oscillation of a many-body system in a harmonic trap is known to be independent of the interparticle interaction. However, this is not necessarily the case if the interactions are treated approximately. Here, we prove a simple general criterion for preservation of the c.m. mode: the approximation has to preserve density and momentum. The result equally applies to zero and finite temperatures, as well as to nonequilibrium situations, and to the linear and nonlinear response regimes.