Dual PT-Symmetric Quantum Field Theories

Some quantum field theories described by non-Hermitian Hamiltonians are investigated. It is shown that for the case of a free fermion field theory with a $\gamma_5$ mass term the Hamiltonian is $\cal PT$-symmetric. Depending on the mass parameter this symmetry may be either broken or unbroken. When the $\cal PT$ symmetry is unbroken, the spectrum of the quantum field theory is real. For the $\cal PT$-symmetric version of the massive Thirring model in two-dimensional space-time, which is dual to the $\cal PT$-symmetric scalar Sine-Gordon model, an exact construction of the $\cal C$ operator is given. It is shown that the $\cal PT$-symmetric massive Thirring and Sine-Gordon models are equivalent to the conventional Hermitian massive Thirring and Sine-Gordon models with appropriately shifted masses.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figur

Semiclassical Calculation of the C Operator in PT-Symmetric Quantum Mechanics

To determine the Hilbert space and inner product for a quantum theory defined by a non-Hermitian $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric Hamiltonian $H$, it is necessary to construct a new time-independent observable operator called $C$. It has recently been shown that for the {\it cubic} $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric Hamiltonian $H=p^2+ x^2+i\epsilon x^3$ one can obtain $\mathcal{C}$ as a perturbation expansion in powers of $\epsilon$. This paper considers the more difficult case of noncubic Hamiltonians of the form $H=p^2+x^2(ix)^\delta$ ($\delta\geq0$). For these Hamiltonians it is shown how to calculate $\mathcal{C}$ by using nonperturbative semiclassical methods.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figur

Bound States of Non-Hermitian Quantum Field Theories

The spectrum of the Hermitian Hamiltonian ${1\over2}p^2+{1\over2}m^2x^2+gx^4$ ($g>0$), which describes the quantum anharmonic oscillator, is real and positive. The non-Hermitian quantum-mechanical Hamiltonian $H={1\over2}p^2+{1 \over2}m^2x^2-gx^4$, where the coupling constant $g$ is real and positive, is ${\cal PT}$-symmetric. As a consequence, the spectrum of $H$ is known to be real and positive as well. Here, it is shown that there is a significant difference between these two theories: When $g$ is sufficiently small, the latter Hamiltonian exhibits a two-particle bound state while the former does not. The bound state persists in the corresponding non-Hermitian ${\cal PT}$-symmetric $-g\phi^4$ quantum field theory for all dimensions $0\leq D<3$ but is not present in the conventional Hermitian $g\phi^4$ field theory.Comment: 14 pages, 3figure

Periodic orbits for classical particles having complex energy

This paper revisits earlier work on complex classical mechanics in which it was argued that when the energy of a classical particle in an analytic potential is real, the particle trajectories are closed and periodic, but that when the energy is complex, the classical trajectories are open. Here it is shown that there is a discrete set of eigencurves in the complex-energy plane for which the particle trajectories are closed and periodic.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figure

A PT-Invariant Potential With Complex QES Eigenvalues

We show that the quasi-exactly solvable eigenvalues of the Schr\"odinger equation for the PT-invariant potential $V(x) = -(\zeta \cosh 2x -iM)^2$ are complex conjugate pairs in case the parameter M is an even integer while they are real in case M is an odd integer. We also show that whereas the PT symmetry is spontaneously broken in the former case, it is unbroken in the latter case.Comment: 8 pages, Latex, No fig, To appear in PLA(2000

Microscopic models for exotic nuclei

Starting from successful self-consistent mean-field models, this paper discusses why and how to go beyond the mean field approximation. To include long-range correlations from fluctuations in collective degrees of freedom, one has to consider symmetry restoration and configuration mixing, which give access to ground-state correlations and spectroscopy.Comment: invited talk at ENAM0

Exact solution for Morse oscillator in PT-symmetric quantum mechanics

The recently proposed PT-symmetric quantum mechanics works with complex potentials which possess, roughly speaking, a symmetric real part and an anti-symmetric imaginary part. We propose and describe a new exactly solvable model of this type. It is defined as a specific analytic continuation of the shape-invariant potential of Morse. In contrast to the latter well-known example, all the new spectrum proves real, discrete and bounded below. All its three separate subsequences are quadratic in n.Comment: 8 pages, submitted to Phys. Lett.

Complex periodic potentials with real band spectra

This paper demonstrates that complex PT-symmetric periodic potentials possess real band spectra. However, there are significant qualitative differences in the band structure for these potentials when compared with conventional real periodic potentials. For example, while the potentials V(x)=i\sin^{2N+1}(x), (N=0, 1, 2, ...), have infinitely many gaps, at the band edges there are periodic wave functions but no antiperiodic wave functions. Numerical analysis and higher-order WKB techniques are used to establish these results.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, LaTe

Model of supersymmetric quantum field theory with broken parity symmetry

Recently, it was observed that self-interacting scalar quantum field theories having a non-Hermitian interaction term of the form $g(i\phi)^{2+\delta}$, where $\delta$ is a real positive parameter, are physically acceptable in the sense that the energy spectrum is real and bounded below. Such theories possess PT invariance, but they are not symmetric under parity reflection or time reversal separately. This broken parity symmetry is manifested in a nonzero value for $$, even if $\delta$ is an even integer. This paper extends this idea to a two-dimensional supersymmetric quantum field theory whose superpotential is ${\cal S}(\phi)=-ig(i\phi)^{1+\delta}$. The resulting quantum field theory exhibits a broken parity symmetry for all $\delta>0$. However, supersymmetry remains unbroken, which is verified by showing that the ground-state energy density vanishes and that the fermion-boson mass ratio is unity.Comment: 20 pages, REVTeX, 11 postscript figure

Overcritical PT-symmetric square well potential in the Dirac equation

We study scattering properties of a PT-symmetric square well potential with real depth larger than the threshold of particle-antiparticle pair production as the time component of a vector potential in the (1+1)-dimensional Dirac equation.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figure, to appear in Physics Letters