arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Miloslav Znojil.
Parallels between the notions of nonlinear pseudobosons and of an apparent non-Hermiticity of observables as shown in paper I (arXiv: 1109.0605) are demonstrated to survive the transition to the quantum models based on the use of unbounded metric in the Hilbert space of states.
A new version of PT-symmetric quantum theory is proposed and illustrated by an N-site-lattice Legendre oscillator. The essence of the innovation lies in the replacement of parity P (serving as an indefinite metric in an auxiliary Krein space) by its non-involutory alternative P(positive)=Q>0 playing the role of a positive-definite nontrivial metric in an auxiliary, redundant, unphysical Hilbert space. It is shown that the QT-symmetry of this form remains appealing and technically useful.
Two discrete N-level alternatives to the popular imaginary cubic oscillator are proposed and studied. In a certain domain ${\cal D}$ of parameters $a$ and $z$ of the model, the spectrum of energies is shown real (i.e., potentially, observable) and the unitarity of the evolution is shown mediated by the construction of a (non-unique) physical, ad hoc Hilbert space endowed with a nontrivial, Hamiltonian-dependent inner-product metric $Θ$. Beyond ${\cal D}$ the complex-energy curves are shown to form a "Fibonacci-numbered" geometric pattern and/or a "topologically complete" set of spectral loci. The dynamics-determining construction of the set of the eligible metrics is shown tractable by a combination of the computer-assisted algebra with the perturbation and extrapolation techniques. Confirming the expectation that for the local potentials the effect of the metric cannot be short-ranged.
A given Hamiltonian matrix H with real spectrum is assumed tridiagonal and non-Hermitian. Its possible Hermitizations via an amended, ad hoc inner-product metric are studied. Under certain reasonable assumptions, all of these metrics are shown obtainable as recurrent solutions of the hidden Hermiticity constraint called Dieudonne equation. In this framework even the two-parametric Jacobi-polynomial real- and asymmetric-matrix N-site lattice Hamiltonian is found tractable non-numerically at all N.
A non-unitary version of quantum scattering is studied via an exactly solvable toy model. The model is merely asymptotically local since the smooth path of the coordinate is admitted complex in the non-asymptotic domain. At any real angular-momentum-like parameter the reflection R and transmission T are shown to change with the winding number (i.e., topology) of the path. The points of unitarity appear related to the points of existence of quantum-knot bound states.
An extension of the scope of quantum theory is proposed in a way inspired by the recent heuristic as well as phenomenological success of the use of non-Hermitian Hamiltonians which are merely required self-adjoint in a Krein space with an indefinite metric (chosen, usually, as the operator of parity). In nuce, the parity-like operators are admitted to represent the mere indefinite metric in a Pontryagin space. A constructive version of such a generalized quantization strategy is outlined and, via a non-numerical illustrative example, found feasible.
The increasingly popular concept of a hidden Hermiticity of operators (i.e., of their Hermiticity with respect to an {\it ad hoc} inner product in Hilbert space) is compared with the recently introduced notion of {\em non-linear pseudo-bosons}. The formal equivalence between these two notions is deduced under very general assumptions. Examples of their applicability in quantum mechanics are discussed.
Non-Hermitian ring-shaped discrete lattices share the appeal with their more popular linear predecessors. Their dynamics controlled by the nearest-neighbor interaction is equally phenomenologically interesting. In comparison, the innovative nontriviality of their topology may be expected to lead to new spectral effects. Some of them are studied here via solvable examples. Main attention is paid to the perturbation-caused removals of spectral degeneracy at exceptional points.
The one-dimensional real line of coordinates is replaced, for simplification or approximation purposes, by an N-plet of the so called Gauss-Hermite grid points. These grid points are interpreted as the eigenvalues of a tridiagonal matrix $\mathfrak{q}_0$ which proves rather complicated. Via the "zeroth" Dyson-map $Ω_0$ the "operator of position" $\mathfrak{q}_0$ is then further simplified into an isospectral matrix $Q_0$ which is found optimal for the purpose. As long as the latter matrix appears non-Hermitian it is not an observable in the manifestly "false" Hilbert space ${\cal H}^{(F)}:=\mathbb{R}^N$. For this reason the optimal operator $Q_0$ is assigned the family of its isospectral avatars $\mathfrak{h}_α$, $α=(0,)\,1,2,...$. They are, by construction, selfadjoint in the respective $α-$dependent image Hilbert spaces ${\cal H}^{(P)}_α$ obtained from ${\cal H}^{(F)}$ by the respective "new" Dyson maps $Ω_α$. In the ultimate step of simplification, the inner product in the F-superscripted space is redefined in an {\it ad hoc}, $α-$dependent manner. The resulting "simplest", S-superscripted representations ${\cal H}^{(S)}_α$ of the eligible physical Hilbert spaces of states (offering different dynamics) then emerge as, by construction, unitary equivalent to the (i.e., indistinguishable from the) respective awkward, P-superscripted and $α-$subscripted physical Hilbert spaces.
We review some recent results of the so-called quasi-hermitian quantum mechanics, with particular focus on the quantum dynamics both in the Schrödinger and in the Heisenberg representations. The role of Krein spaces is also discussed.
The problem of the determination of the Hilbert-space metric which renders a given Hamiltonian $H$ self-adjoint is addressed from the point of view of applicability of computer-assisted algebraic manipulations. An exactly solvable example of the so called Gegenbauerian quantum-lattice oscillator is recalled for the purpose. Both the construction of suitable metric (basically, the solution of the Dieudonne's operator equation) and the determination of its domain of positivity are shown facilitated by the symbolic algebraic manipulations and by MAPLE-supported numerics and graphics.
A toy-model quantum system is proposed. At a given integer $N$ it is defined by the pair of $N$ by $N$ real matrices $(H,Θ)$ of which the first item $H$ specifies an elementary, diagonalizable non-Hermitian Hamiltonian $H \neq H^\dagger$ with the real and explicit spectrum given by the zeros of the $N-$th Chebyshev polynomial of the first kind. The second item $Θ\neq I$ must be (and is being) constructed as the related Hilbert-space metric which specifies the (in general, non-unique) physical inner product and which renders our toy-model Hamiltonian selfadjoint, i.e., compatible with the Dieudonne equation $H^\dagger Θ= Θ\,H$. The elements of the (in principle, complete) set of the eligible metrics are then constructed in closed band-matrix form. They vary with our choice of the $N-$plet of optional parameters, $Θ=Θ(\vecκ)>0$ which must be (and are being) selected as lying in the positivity domain of the metric, $\vecκ \in {\cal D}^{(physical)}$.
The question of possible physics before Big Bang (or after Big Crunch) is addressed via a schematic non-covariant simulation of the loss of observability of the Universe. Our model is drastically simplified by the reduction of its degrees of freedom to the mere finite number. The Hilbert space of states is then allowed time-dependent and singular at the critical time $t=t_c$. This option circumvents several traditional theoretical difficulties in a way illustrated via solvable examples. In particular, the unitary evolution of our toy-model quantum Universe is shown interruptible, without any fine-tuning, at the instant of its bang or collapse $t= t_c$.
The "Hermitizability" problem of quantum theory is explained, discussed and illustrated via the discrete-lattice cryptohermitian quantum graphs. In detail, the description of the domain ${\cal D}$ of admissible parameters is provided for the "circular-model" three-parametric quantum Hamiltonian $H$ using periodic boundary conditions. It is emphasized that even in such an elementary system the weak- and strong-coupling subdomains of ${\cal D}$ become, unexpectedly, non-empty and disconnected.
In supersymmetric quantum mechanics the emergence of a singularity may lead to the breakdown of isospectrality between partner potentials. One of the regularization recipes is based on a topologically nontrivial, multisheeted complex deformations of the line of coordinate $x$ giving the so called quantum toboggan models (QTM). The consistent theoretical background of this recipe is briefly reviewed. Then, certain supersymmetric QTM pairs are shown exceptional and reducible to doublets of non-singular ordinary differential equations a.k.a. Sturm-Schrödinger equations containing a weighted energy $E\to EW(x)$ and living in single complex plane.
An array of N subsequent Laguerre polynomials is interpreted as an eigenvector of a non-Hermitian tridiagonal Hamiltonian $H$ with real spectrum or, better said, of an exactly solvable N-site-lattice cryptohermitian Hamiltonian whose spectrum is known as equal to the set of zeros of the N-th Laguerre polynomial. The two key problems (viz., the one of the ambiguity and the one of the closed-form construction of all of the eligible inner products which make $H$ Hermitian in the respective {\em ad hoc} Hilbert spaces) are discussed. Then, for illustration, the first four simplest, $k-$parametric definitions of inner products with $k=0,k=1,k=2$ and $k=3$ are explicitly displayed. In mathematical terms these alternative inner products may be perceived as alternative Hermitian conjugations of the initial N-plet of Laguerre polynomials. In physical terms the parameter $k$ may be interpreted as a measure of the "smearing of the lattice coordinates" in the model.
Non-hermitian quantum graphs possessing real (i.e., in principle, observable) spectra are studied via their discretization. The discretized Hamiltonians are assigned, constructively, an elementary pseudometric and/or a more complicated metric. Both these constructions make the Hamiltonian Hermitian, respectively, in an auxiliary (Krein or Pontryagin) vector space or in a less friendly (but more useful) Hilbert space of quantum mechanics.
A new version of an elementary PT-symmetric square well quantum model is proposed in which a certain Hermiticity-violating end-point interaction leaves the spectrum real in a large domain of couplings $λ\in (-1,1)$. Within this interval we employ the usual coupling-independent operator P of parity and construct, in a systematic Runge-Kutta discrete approximation, a coupling-dependent operator of charge C which enables us to classify our P-asymmetric model as CPT-symmetric or, equivalently, hiddenly Hermitian alias cryptohermitian.