3,528 research outputs found
On Pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonians and Their Hermitian Counterparts
In the context of two particularly interesting non-Hermitian models in
quantum mechanics we explore the relationship between the original Hamiltonian
H and its Hermitian counterpart h, obtained from H by a similarity
transformation, as pointed out by Mostafazadeh. In the first model, due to
Swanson, h turns out to be just a scaled harmonic oscillator, which explains
the form of its spectrum. However, the transformation is not unique, which also
means that the observables of the original theory are not uniquely determined
by H alone. The second model we consider is the original PT-invariant
Hamiltonian, with potential V=igx^3. In this case the corresponding h, which we
are only able to construct in perturbation theory, corresponds to a complicated
velocity-dependent potential. We again explore the relationship between the
canonical variables x and p and the observables X and P.Comment: 9 pages, no figure
Dynamical stabilization of classical multi electron targets against autoionization
We demonstrate that a recently published quasiclassical M\oller type approach
[Geyer and Rost 2002, J. Phys. B 35 1479] can be used to overcome the problem
of autoionization, which arises in classical trajectory calculations for many
electron targets. In this method the target is stabilized dynamically by a
backward--forward propagation scheme. We illustrate this refocusing and present
total cross sections for single and double ionization of helium by electron
impact.Comment: LaTeX, 6 pages, 2 figures; submitted to J. Phys.
Superspace formulation of general massive gauge theories and geometric interpretation of mass-dependent BRST symmetries
A superspace formulation is proposed for the osp(1,2)-covariant Lagrangian
quantization of general massive gauge theories. The superalgebra os0(1,2) is
considered as subalgebra of sl(1,2); the latter may be considered as the
algebra of generators of the conformal group in a superspace with two
anticommuting coordinates. The mass-dependent (anti)BRST symmetries of proper
solutions of the quantum master equations in the osp(1,2)-covariant formalism
are realized in that superspace as invariance under translations combined with
mass-dependent special conformal transformations. The Sp(2) symmetry - in
particular the ghost number conservation - and the "new ghost number"
conservation are realized as invariance under symplectic rotations and
dilatations, respectively. The transformations of the gauge fields - and of the
full set of necessarily required (anti)ghost and auxiliary fields - under the
superalgebra sl(1,2) are determined both for irreducible and first-stage
reducible theories with closed gauge algebra.Comment: 35 pages, AMSTEX, precision of reference
Non-Hermitian oscillator Hamiltonian and su(1,1): a way towards generalizations
The family of metric operators, constructed by Musumbu {\sl et al} (2007 {\sl
J. Phys. A: Math. Theor.} {\bf 40} F75), for a harmonic oscillator Hamiltonian
augmented by a non-Hermitian -symmetric part, is re-examined in the
light of an su(1,1) approach. An alternative derivation, only relying on
properties of su(1,1) generators, is proposed. Being independent of the
realization considered for the latter, it opens the way towards the
construction of generalized non-Hermitian (not necessarily -symmetric)
oscillator Hamiltonians related by similarity to Hermitian ones. Some examples
of them are reviewed.Comment: 11 pages, no figure; changes in title and in paragraphs 3 and 5;
final published versio
Effects of phase transitions in devices actuated by the electromagnetic vacuum force
We study the influence of the electromagnetic vacuum force on the behaviour
of a model device based on materials, like germanium tellurides, that undergo
fast and reversible metal-insulator transitions on passing from the crystalline
to the amorphous phase. The calculations are performed at finite temperature
and fully accounting for the behaviour of the material dielectric functions.
The results show that the transition can be exploited to extend the distance
and energy ranges under which the device can be operated without undergoing
stiction phenomena. We discuss the approximation involved in adopting the
Casimir expression in simulating nano- and micro- devices at finite
temperature
Moyal products -- a new perspective on quasi-hermitian quantum mechanics
The rationale for introducing non-hermitian Hamiltonians and other
observables is reviewed and open issues identified. We present a new approach
based on Moyal products to compute the metric for quasi-hermitian systems. This
approach is not only an efficient method of computation, but also suggests a
new perspective on quasi-hermitian quantum mechanics which invites further
exploration. In particular, we present some first results which link the Berry
connection and curvature to non-perturbative properties and the metric.Comment: 14 pages. Submitted to J Phys A special issue on The Physics of
Non-Hermitian Operator
Reconstruction of thermally-symmetrized quantum autocorrelation functions from imaginary-time data
In this paper, I propose a technique for recovering quantum dynamical
information from imaginary-time data via the resolution of a one-dimensional
Hamburger moment problem. It is shown that the quantum autocorrelation
functions are uniquely determined by and can be reconstructed from their
sequence of derivatives at origin. A general class of reconstruction algorithms
is then identified, according to Theorem 3. The technique is advocated as
especially effective for a certain class of quantum problems in continuum
space, for which only a few moments are necessary. For such problems, it is
argued that the derivatives at origin can be evaluated by Monte Carlo
simulations via estimators of finite variances in the limit of an infinite
number of path variables. Finally, a maximum entropy inversion algorithm for
the Hamburger moment problem is utilized to compute the quantum rate of
reaction for a one-dimensional symmetric Eckart barrier.Comment: 15 pages, no figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
On the efficient Monte Carlo implementation of path integrals
We demonstrate that the Levy-Ciesielski implementation of Lie-Trotter
products enjoys several properties that make it extremely suitable for
path-integral Monte Carlo simulations: fast computation of paths, fast Monte
Carlo sampling, and the ability to use different numbers of time slices for the
different degrees of freedom, commensurate with the quantum effects. It is
demonstrated that a Monte Carlo simulation for which particles or small groups
of variables are updated in a sequential fashion has a statistical efficiency
that is always comparable to or better than that of an all-particle or
all-variable update sampler. The sequential sampler results in significant
computational savings if updating a variable costs only a fraction of the cost
for updating all variables simultaneously or if the variables are independent.
In the Levy-Ciesielski representation, the path variables are grouped in a
small number of layers, with the variables from the same layer being
statistically independent. The superior performance of the fast sampling
algorithm is shown to be a consequence of these observations. Both mathematical
arguments and numerical simulations are employed in order to quantify the
computational advantages of the sequential sampler, the Levy-Ciesielski
implementation of path integrals, and the fast sampling algorithm.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures; submitted to Phys. Rev.
Coordinate Singularities in Harmonically-sliced Cosmologies
Harmonic slicing has in recent years become a standard way of prescribing the
lapse function in numerical simulations of general relativity. However, as was
first noticed by Alcubierre (1997), numerical solutions generated using this
slicing condition can show pathological behaviour. In this paper, analytic and
numerical methods are used to examine harmonic slicings of Kasner and Gowdy
cosmological spacetimes. It is shown that in general the slicings are prevented
from covering the whole of the spacetimes by the appearance of coordinate
singularities. As well as limiting the maximum running times of numerical
simulations, the coordinate singularities can lead to features being produced
in numerically evolved solutions which must be distinguished from genuine
physical effects.Comment: 21 pages, REVTeX, 5 figure
Exact Foldy-Wouthuysen transformation for gravitational waves and magnetic field background
We consider an exact Foldy-Wouthuysen transformation for the Dirac spinor
field on the combined background of a gravitational wave and constant uniform
magnetic field. By taking the classical limit of the spinor field Hamiltonian
we arrive at the equations of motion for the non-relativistic spinning
particle. Two different kinds of the gravitational fields are considered and in
both cases the effect of the gravitational wave on the spinor field and on the
corresponding spinning particle may be enforced by the sufficiently strong
magnetic field. This result can be relevant for the astrophysical applications
and, in principle, useful for creating the gravitational wave detectors based
on atomic physics and precise interferometry
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