Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:0807.3643 · Physical Review Letters

Naimark-Dilated PT -Symmetric Brachistochrone

Uwe Günther, B. F. Samsonov

Published Dec 5, 2008• 177 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

The quantum mechanical brachistochrone system with a PT-symmetric Hamiltonian is Naimark-dilated and reinterpreted as a subsystem of a Hermitian system in a higher-dimensional Hilbert space. This opens a way to a direct experimental implementation of the recently hypothesized PT-symmetric ultrafast brachistochrone regime of Bender et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 040403 (2007)] in an entangled two-spin system.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.101.230404

Related papers

The quantum brachistochrone problem for non-Hermitian Hamiltonians

Assis, P E G, Fring, A

Recently Bender, Brody, Jones and Meister found that in the quantum brachistochrone problem the passage time needed for the evolution of certain initial states into specified final states can be made arbitrarily small, when the time-evolution operator is taken to be non-Hermitian but PT-symmetric. Here we demonstrate that such phenomena can also be obtained for dissipative systems. We conclude that the effect of a tunable passage time can be attributed to the non-Hermitian nature of the time-evolution operator rather than to its PT-symmetry.

•Mar 27, 2007•29 citations

Non-unitary operator equivalence classes, the PT-symmetric brachistochrone problem and Lorentz boosts

Uwe Guenther, B. F. Samsonov

The PT-symmetric (PTS) quantum brachistochrone problem is reanalyzed as quantum system consisting of a non-Hermitian PTS component and a purely Hermitian component simultaneously. Interpreting this specific setup as subsystem of a larger Hermitian system, we find non-unitary operator equivalence classes (conjugacy classes) as natural ingredient which contain at least one Dirac-Hermitian representative. With the help of a geometric analysis the compatibility of the vanishing passage time solution of a PTS brachistochrone with the Anandan-Aharonov lower bound for passage times of Hermitian brachistochrones is demonstrated.

•Sep 4, 2007•2 citations

Non-Hermitian Quantum Systems and Time-Optimal Quantum Evolution

Alexander I. Nesterov

Recently, Bender et al. have considered the quantum brachistochrone problem for the non-Hermitian PT -symmetric quantum system and have shown that the optimal time evolution required to transform a given initial state |ψ i into a specific final state |ψ f can be made arbitrarily small.Additionally, it has been shown that finding the shortest possible time requires only the solution of the two-dimensional problem for the quantum system governed by the effective Hamiltonian acting in the subspace spanned by |ψ i and |ψ f .In this paper, we study a similar problem for the generic non-Hermitian Hamiltonian, focusing our attention on the geometric aspects of the problem.

arXiv:0707.2736•Symmetry Integrability and Geometry Methods and Applications•Jul 7, 2009•9 citations

Quantum Brachistochrone Problem and the Geometry of the State Space in Pseudo-Hermitian Quantum Mechanics

Ali Mostafazadeh

A non-Hermitian operator with a real spectrum and a complete set of eigenvectors may serve as the Hamiltonian operator for a unitary quantum system provided that one makes an appropriate choice for the defining the inner product of physical Hilbert state. We study the consequences of such a choice for the representation of states in terms of projection operators and the geometry of the state space. This allows for a careful treatment of the quantum Brachistochrone problem and shows that it is indeed impossible to achieve faster unitary evolutions using PT-symmetric or other non-Hermitian Hamiltonians than those given by Hermitian Hamiltonians.

arXiv:0706.3844•Physical Review Letters•Sep 26, 2007•107 citations

PT -symmetric brachistochrone problem, Lorentz boosts, and nonunitary operator equivalence classes

Uwe Günther, B. F. Samsonov

The $\mathcal{P}\mathcal{T}$-symmetric (PTS) quantum brachistochrone problem is re-analyzed as a quantum system consisting of a non-Hermitian PTS component and a purely Hermitian component simultaneously. Interpreting this specific setup as a subsystem of a larger Hermitian system, we find nonunitary operator equivalence classes (conjugacy classes) as natural ingredients which contain at least one Dirac-Hermitian representative. With the help of a geometric analysis the compatibility of the vanishing passage time solution of a PTS brachistochrone with the Anandan-Aharonov lower bound for passage times of Hermitian brachistochrones is demonstrated.

arXiv:0709.0483•Physical Review A•Oct 31, 2008•38 citations

PT-Symmetric Hamiltonians as couplings of dual pairs

Volodymyr Derkach, Philipp Schmitz, Carsten Trunk

In the seminal paper (Bender & Boettcher, 1998) a new view of quantum mechanics was proposed. This new view differs from the old one in that the restriction on the Hamiltonian to be Hermitian is relaxed: now the Hamiltonian is PT -symmetric. Here P is parity and T is time reversal. Since 1998, PT -symmetric Hamiltonians have been analyzed intensively by many authors. In Mostafazadeh (2002) PT -symmetry was embedded into the more general mathematical framework of pseudo-Hermiticity or, what is the same, self-adjoint operators in Kre˘ın spaces, see (Langer & Tretter, 2004; Azizov & Trunk, 2012; Hassi & Kuzhel, 2013; Leben & Trunk, 2019). For a general introduction to PT -symmetric quantum mechanics we refer to the overview paper of Mostafazadeh (2010) and to the books of Moiseyev (2011) and Bender (2019).

•Apr 20, 2021•0 citations
The quantum mechanical brachistochrone system with a PT-symmetric Hamiltonian is Naimark-dilated and reinterpreted as a subsystem of a Hermitian system in a higher-dimensional Hilbert space. This opens a way to a direct experimental implementation of the recently hypothesized PT-symmetric ultrafast brachistochrone regime of Bender et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 040403 (2007)] in an entangled two-spin system.
Recently Bender, Brody, Jones and Meister found that in the quantum brachistochrone problem the passage time needed for the evolution of certain initial states into specified final states can be made arbitrarily small, when the time-evolution operator is taken to be non-Hermitian but PT-symmetric. Here we demonstrate that such phenomena can also be obtained for dissipative systems. We conclude that the effect of a tunable passage time can be attributed to the non-Hermitian nature of the time-evolution operator rather than to its PT-symmetry.
The PT-symmetric (PTS) quantum brachistochrone problem is reanalyzed as quantum system consisting of a non-Hermitian PTS component and a purely Hermitian component simultaneously. Interpreting this specific setup as subsystem of a larger Hermitian system, we find non-unitary operator equivalence classes (conjugacy classes) as natural ingredient which contain at least one Dirac-Hermitian representative. With the help of a geometric analysis the compatibility of the vanishing passage time solution of a PTS brachistochrone with the Anandan-Aharonov lower bound for passage times of Hermitian brachistochrones is demonstrated.
Recently, Bender et al. have considered the quantum brachistochrone problem for the non-Hermitian PT -symmetric quantum system and have shown that the optimal time evolution required to transform a given initial state |ψ i into a specific final state |ψ f can be made arbitrarily small.Additionally, it has been shown that finding the shortest possible time requires only the solution of the two-dimensional problem for the quantum system governed by the effective Hamiltonian acting in the subspace spanned by |ψ i and |ψ f .In this paper, we study a similar problem for the generic non-Hermitian Hamiltonian, focusing our attention on the geometric aspects of the problem.
A non-Hermitian operator with a real spectrum and a complete set of eigenvectors may serve as the Hamiltonian operator for a unitary quantum system provided that one makes an appropriate choice for the defining the inner product of physical Hilbert state. We study the consequences of such a choice for the representation of states in terms of projection operators and the geometry of the state space. This allows for a careful treatment of the quantum Brachistochrone problem and shows that it is indeed impossible to achieve faster unitary evolutions using PT-symmetric or other non-Hermitian Hamiltonians than those given by Hermitian Hamiltonians.
The PT\mathcal{P}\mathcal{T}PT-symmetric (PTS) quantum brachistochrone problem is re-analyzed as a quantum system consisting of a non-Hermitian PTS component and a purely Hermitian component simultaneously. Interpreting this specific setup as a subsystem of a larger Hermitian system, we find nonunitary operator equivalence classes (conjugacy classes) as natural ingredients which contain at least one Dirac-Hermitian representative. With the help of a geometric analysis the compatibility of the vanishing passage time solution of a PTS brachistochrone with the Anandan-Aharonov lower bound for passage times of Hermitian brachistochrones is demonstrated.
In the seminal paper (Bender & Boettcher, 1998) a new view of quantum mechanics was proposed. This new view differs from the old one in that the restriction on the Hamiltonian to be Hermitian is relaxed: now the Hamiltonian is PT -symmetric. Here P is parity and T is time reversal. Since 1998, PT -symmetric Hamiltonians have been analyzed intensively by many authors. In Mostafazadeh (2002) PT -symmetry was embedded into the more general mathematical framework of pseudo-Hermiticity or, what is the same, self-adjoint operators in Kre˘ın spaces, see (Langer & Tretter, 2004; Azizov & Trunk, 2012; Hassi & Kuzhel, 2013; Leben & Trunk, 2019). For a general introduction to PT -symmetric quantum mechanics we refer to the overview paper of Mostafazadeh (2010) and to the books of Moiseyev (2011) and Bender (2019).