Trace Formulas in Connection with Scattering Theory for Quasi-Periodic Background

We investigate trace formulas for Jacobi operators which are trace class perturbations of quasi-periodic finite-gap operators using Krein's spectral shift theory. In particular we establish the conserved quantities for the solutions of the Toda hierarchy in this class.Comment: 7 page

On the Equivalence of Different Lax Pairs for the Kac-van Moerbeke Hierarchy

We give a simple algebraic proof that the two different Lax pairs for the Kac-van Moerbeke hierarchy, constructed from Jacobi respectively super-symmetric Dirac-type difference operators, give rise to the same hierarchy of evolution equations. As a byproduct we obtain some new recursions for computing these equations.Comment: 8 page

Scattering Theory for Jacobi Operators with Steplike Quasi-Periodic Background

We develop direct and inverse scattering theory for Jacobi operators with steplike quasi-periodic finite-gap background in the same isospectral class. We derive the corresponding Gel'fand-Levitan-Marchenko equation and find minimal scattering data which determine the perturbed operator uniquely. In addition, we show how the transmission coefficients can be reconstructed from the eigenvalues and one of the reflection coefficients.Comment: 14 page

Reconstructing Jacobi Matrices from Three Spectra

Cut a Jacobi matrix into two pieces by removing the n-th column and n-th row. We give neccessary and sufficient conditions for the spectra of the original matrix plus the spectra of the two submatrices to uniqely determine the original matrix. Our result contains Hostadt's original result as a special case

Long-Time Asymptotics of the Toda Lattice for Decaying Initial Data Revisited

The purpose of this article is to give a streamlined and self-contained treatment of the long-time asymptotics of the Toda lattice for decaying initial data in the soliton and in the similarity region via the method of nonlinear steepest descent.Comment: 41 page

The algebro-geometric initial value problem for the Ablowitz-Ladik hierarchy

We discuss the algebro-geometric initial value problem for the Ablowitz-Ladik hierarchy with complex-valued initial data and prove unique solvability globally in time for a set of initial (Dirichlet divisor) data of full measure. To this effect we develop a new algorithm for constructing stationary complex-valued algebro-geometric solutions of the Ablowitz-Ladik hierarchy, which is of independent interest as it solves the inverse algebro-geometric spectral problem for general (non-unitary) Ablowitz-Ladik Lax operators, starting from a suitably chosen set of initial divisors of full measure. Combined with an appropriate first-order system of differential equations with respect to time (a substitute for the well-known Dubrovin-type equations), this yields the construction of global algebro-geometric solutions of the time-dependent Ablowitz-Ladik hierarchy. The treatment of general (non-unitary) Lax operators associated with general coefficients for the Ablowitz-Ladik hierarchy poses a variety of difficulties that, to the best of our knowledge, are successfully overcome here for the first time. Our approach is not confined to the Ablowitz-Ladik hierarchy but applies generally to (1+1)-dimensional completely integrable soliton equations of differential-difference type.Comment: 47 page

Lattice two-body problem with arbitrary finite range interactions

We study the exact solution of the two-body problem on a tight-binding one-dimensional lattice, with pairwise interaction potentials which have an arbitrary but finite range. We show how to obtain the full spectrum, the bound and scattering states and the "low-energy" solutions by very efficient and easy-to-implement numerical means. All bound states are proven to be characterized by roots of a polynomial whose degree depends linearly on the range of the potential, and we discuss the connections between the number of bound states and the scattering lengths. "Low-energy" resonances can be located with great precission with the methods we introduce. Further generalizations to include more exotic interactions are also discussed.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure

Invisibility in non-Hermitian tight-binding lattices

Reflectionless defects in Hermitian tight-binding lattices, synthesized by the intertwining operator technique of supersymmetric quantum mechanics, are generally not invisible and time-of-flight measurements could reveal the existence of the defects. Here it is shown that, in a certain class of non-Hermitian tight-binding lattices with complex hopping amplitudes, defects in the lattice can appear fully invisible to an outside observer. The synthesized non-Hermitian lattices with invisible defects possess a real-valued energy spectrum, however they lack of parity-time (PT) symmetry, which does not play any role in the present work.Comment: to appear in Phys. Rev.

Singular components of spectral measures for ergodic Jacobi matrices

For ergodic 1d Jacobi operators we prove that the random singular components of any spectral measure are almost surely mutually disjoint as long as one restricts to the set of positive Lyapunov exponent. In the context of extended Harper's equation this yields the first rigorous proof of the Thouless' formula for the Lyapunov exponent in the dual regions.Comment: to appear in the Journal of Mathematical Physics, vol 52 (2011

Relative Oscillation Theory, Weighted Zeros of the Wronskian, and the Spectral Shift Function

We develop an analog of classical oscillation theory for Sturm-Liouville operators which, rather than measuring the spectrum of one single operator, measures the difference between the spectra of two different operators. This is done by replacing zeros of solutions of one operator by weighted zeros of Wronskians of solutions of two different operators. In particular, we show that a Sturm-type comparison theorem still holds in this situation and demonstrate how this can be used to investigate the finiteness of eigenvalues in essential spectral gaps. Furthermore, the connection with Krein's spectral shift function is established.Comment: 26 page