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arXiv:0710.1485 · Journal of Physics Conference Series

Quantum toboggans: models exhibiting a multisheetedPT—symmetry

Miloslav Znojil

Published Aug 1, 2008• 7 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

A generalization of the concept of PT —symmetric Hamiltonians H = p 2 + V ( x ) is presented. For the usual analytic potentials V ( x ) (with singularities) and for the recently widely accepted ' PT —symmetric' asymptotic boundary conditions for wave functions ψ( x ) (selected inside a pair of complex wedges generalizing the usual x → ± ∞ asymptotics), non-equivalent quantum toboggans are defined as integrated along topologically different paths C of coordinates x ε Cl .

DOI
10.1088/1742-6596/128/1/012046

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A generalization of the concept of PT —symmetric Hamiltonians H = p 2 + V ( x ) is presented. For the usual analytic potentials V ( x ) (with singularities) and for the recently widely accepted ' PT —symmetric' asymptotic boundary conditions for wave functions ψ( x ) (selected inside a pair of complex wedges generalizing the usual x → ± ∞ asymptotics), non-equivalent quantum toboggans are defined as integrated along topologically different paths C of coordinates x ε Cl .
This paper explains the systematics of the generation of families of spectra for the -symmetric quantum-mechanical Hamiltonians H=p(2)+x(2)(ix)(ε), H=p(2)+(x(2))(δ) and H=p(2)-(x(2))(μ). In addition, it contrasts the results obtained with those found for a bosonic scalar field theory, in particular in one dimension, highlighting the similarities to and differences from the quantum-mechanical case. It is shown that the number of families of spectra can be deduced from the number of non-contiguous pairs of Stokes wedges that display PT symmetry. To do so, simple arguments that use the Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin approximation are used, and these imply that the eigenvalues are real. However, definitive results are in most cases presently only obtainable numerically, and not all eigenvalues in each family may be real. Within the approximations used, it is illustrated that the difference between the quantum-mechanical and the field-theoretical cases lies in the number of accessible regions in which the eigenfunctions decay exponentially. This paper reviews and implements well-known techniques in complex analysis and PT-symmetric quantum theory.
It is generally assumed that a Hamiltonian for a physically acceptable quantum system (one that has a positive-definite spectrum and obeys the requirement of unitarity) must be Hermitian. However, a PT-symmetric Hamiltonian can also define a physically acceptable quantum-mechanical system even if the Hamiltonian is not Hermitian. The study of PT-symmetric quantum systems is a young and extremely active research area in both theoretical and experimental physics. The purpose of this Review is to provide established scientists as well as graduate students with a compact, easy-to-read introduction to this field that will enable them to understand more advanced publications and to begin their own theoretical or experimental research activity. The ideas and techniques of PT symmetry have been applied in the context of many different branches of physics. This Review introduces the concepts of PT symmetry by focusing on elementary one-dimensional PT-symmetric quantum and classical mechanics and relies in particular on oscillator models to illustrate and explain the basic properties of PT-symmetric quantum theory.
A general formalism is worked out for the description of one-dimensional scattering in non-hermitian quantum mechanics and constraints on transmission and reflection coefficients are derived in the cases of P, T, or PT invariance of the Hamiltonian. Applications to some solvable PT-symmetric potentials are shown in detail. Our main original results concern the association of reflectionless potentials with asymptotic exact PT symmetry and the peculiarities of separable kernels of non-local potentials in connection with hermiticity, T invariance and PT invariance.
This paper proposes to broaden the canonical formulation of quantum mechanics. Ordinarily, one imposes the condition H†=H on the Hamiltonian, where † represents the mathematical operation of complex conjugation and matrix transposition. This conventional Hermiticity condition is sufficient to ensure that the Hamiltonian H has a real spectrum. However, replacing this mathematical condition by the weaker and more physical requirement H‡=H, where ‡ represents combined parity reflection and time reversal 𝒫𝒯, one obtains new classes of complex Hamiltonians whose spectra are still real and positive. This generalization of Hermiticity is investigated using a complex deformation H=p2+x2(ix)ε of the harmonic oscillator Hamiltonian, where ε is a real parameter. The system exhibits two phases: When ε⩾0, the energy spectrum of H is real and positive as a consequence of 𝒫𝒯 symmetry. However, when −1<ε<0, the spectrum contains an infinite number of complex eigenvalues and a finite number of real, positive eigenvalues because 𝒫𝒯 symmetry is spontaneously broken. The phase transition that occurs at ε=0 manifests itself in both the quantum-mechanical system and the underlying classical system. Similar qualitative features are exhibited by complex deformations of other standard real Hamiltonians H=p2+x2N(ix)ε with N integer and ε>−N; each of these complex Hamiltonians exhibits a phase transition at ε=0. These 𝒫𝒯-symmetric theories may be viewed as analytic continuations of conventional theories from real to complex phase space.
The physical condition that the expectation values of physical observables are real quantities is used to give a precise formulation of PT-symmetric quantum mechanics. A mathematically rigorous proof is given to establish the physical equivalence of PT-symmetric and conventional quantum mechanics. The results reported in this paper apply to arbitrary PT-symmetric Hamiltonians with a real and discrete spectrum. They hold regardless of whether the boundary conditions defining the spectrum of the Hamiltonian are given on the real line or a complex contour.