163 research outputs found
Must a Hamiltonian be Hermitian?
A consistent physical theory of quantum mechanics can be built on a complex
Hamiltonian that is not Hermitian but instead satisfies the physical condition
of space-time reflection symmetry (PT symmetry). Thus, there are infinitely
many new Hamiltonians that one can construct that might explain experimental
data. One would think that a quantum theory based on a non-Hermitian
Hamiltonian violates unitarity. However, if PT symmetry is not broken, it is
possible to use a previously unnoticed physical symmetry of the Hamiltonian to
construct an inner product whose associated norm is positive definite. This
construction is general and works for any PT-symmetric Hamiltonian. The
dynamics is governed by unitary time evolution. This formulation does not
conflict with the requirements of conventional quantum mechanics. There are
many possible observable and experimental consequences of extending quantum
mechanics into the complex domain, both in particle physics and in solid state
physics.Comment: Revised version to appear in American Journal of Physic
Faster than Hermitian Quantum Mechanics
Given an initial quantum state |psi_I> and a final quantum state |psi_F> in a
Hilbert space, there exist Hamiltonians H under which |psi_I> evolves into
|psi_F>. Consider the following quantum brachistochrone problem: Subject to the
constraint that the difference between the largest and smallest eigenvalues of
H is held fixed, which H achieves this transformation in the least time tau?
For Hermitian Hamiltonians tau has a nonzero lower bound. However, among
non-Hermitian PT-symmetric Hamiltonians satisfying the same energy constraint,
tau can be made arbitrarily small without violating the time-energy uncertainty
principle. This is because for such Hamiltonians the path from |psi_I> to
|psi_F> can be made short. The mechanism described here is similar to that in
general relativity in which the distance between two space-time points can be
made small if they are connected by a wormhole. This result may have
applications in quantum computing.Comment: 4 page
Semiclassical analysis of a complex quartic Hamiltonian
It is necessary to calculate the C operator for the non-Hermitian
PT-symmetric Hamiltonian H=\half p^2+\half\mu^2x^2-\lambda x^4 in order to
demonstrate that H defines a consistent unitary theory of quantum mechanics.
However, the C operator cannot be obtained by using perturbative methods.
Including a small imaginary cubic term gives the Hamiltonian H=\half p^2+\half
\mu^2x^2+igx^3-\lambda x^4, whose C operator can be obtained perturbatively. In
the semiclassical limit all terms in the perturbation series can be calculated
in closed form and the perturbation series can be summed exactly. The result is
a closed-form expression for C having a nontrivial dependence on the dynamical
variables x and p and on the parameter \lambda.Comment: 4 page
Scalar Quantum Field Theory with Cubic Interaction
In this paper it is shown that an i phi^3 field theory is a physically
acceptable field theory model (the spectrum is positive and the theory is
unitary). The demonstration rests on the perturbative construction of a linear
operator C, which is needed to define the Hilbert space inner product. The C
operator is a new, time-independent observable in PT-symmetric quantum field
theory.Comment: Corrected expressions in equations (20) and (21
Complex Extension of Quantum Mechanics
It is shown that the standard formulation of quantum mechanics in terms of
Hermitian Hamiltonians is overly restrictive. A consistent physical theory of
quantum mechanics can be built on a complex Hamiltonian that is not Hermitian
but satisfies the less restrictive and more physical condition of space-time
reflection symmetry (PT symmetry). Thus, there are infinitely many new
Hamiltonians that one can construct to explain experimental data. One might
expect that a quantum theory based on a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian would violate
unitarity. However, if PT symmetry is not spontaneously broken, it is possible
to construct a previously unnoticed physical symmetry C of the Hamiltonian.
Using C, an inner product is constructed whose associated norm is positive
definite. This construction is completely general and works for any
PT-symmetric Hamiltonian. Observables exhibit CPT symmetry, and the dynamics is
governed by unitary time evolution. This work is not in conflict with
conventional quantum mechanics but is rather a complex generalisation of it.Comment: 4 Pages, Version to appear in PR
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