We show that a Dicke-type non-Hermitian Hamiltonian admits entirely real spectra by mapping it to the "dressed Dicke model" through a similarity transformation. We find a positive-definite metric in the Hilbert space of the non-Hermitian Hamiltonian so that the time evolution is unitary and allows a consistent quantum description. We then show that this non-Hermitian Hamiltonian describing nondissipative quantum processes undergoes quantum phase transition. The exactly solvable limit of the non-Hermitian Hamiltonian has also been discussed.
We show that a Dicke-type non-Hermitian Hamiltonian admits entirely real spectra by mapping it to the "dressed Dicke model" through a similarity transformation. We find a positive-definite metric in the Hilbert space of the non-Hermitian Hamiltonian so that the time evolution is unitary and allows a consistent quantum description. We then show that this non-Hermitian Hamiltonian describing nondissipative quantum processes undergoes quantum phase transition. The exactly solvable limit of the non-Hermitian Hamiltonian has also been discussed.
Abstract The Hamiltonian of a conventional quantum system is Hermitian, which ensures real spectra of the Hamiltonian and unitary evolution of the system. However, real spectra are just the necessary conditions for a Hamiltonian to be Hermitian. In this paper, we discuss the metric operators for pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonian which is similar to its adjoint. We first present some properties of the metric operators for pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonians and obtain a sufficient and necessary condition for an invertible operator to be a metric operator for a given pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonian. When the pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonian has real spectra, we provide a new method such that any given metric operator can be transformed into the same positive-definite one and the new inner product with respect to the positive-definite metric operator is well defined. Finally, we illustrate the results obtained with an example.
A class of pseudo-Hermitian quantum system with an explicit form of the positive-definite metric in the Hilbert space is presented. The general method involves a realization of the basic canonical commutation relations defining the quantum system in terms of operators that are Hermitian with respect to a pre-determined positive-definite metric in the Hilbert space. Appropriate combinations of these operators result in a large number of pseudo-Hermitian quantum systems admitting entirely real spectra and unitary time evolution. The examples considered include simple harmonic oscillators with complex angular frequencies, Stark (Zeeman) effect with non-Hermitian interaction, non-Hermitian general quadratic form of N boson (fermion) operators, symmetric and asymmetric XXZ spin chain in the complex magnetic field, non-Hermitian Haldane–Shastry spin chain and Lipkin–Meshkov–Glick model.
We propose a scheme to deal with certain time-dependent non-Hermitian Hamiltonian operators H(t) that generate a real phase in their time-evolution. This involves the use of invariant operators IPH(t) that are pseudo-Hermitian with respect to the time-dependent metric operator and which implies that the dynamics is governed by unitary time evolution. Furthermore, H(t) is not generally quasi-Hermitian and does not define an observable of the system but IPH(t) obeys a quasi-hermiticity transformation as in the completely time-independent Hamiltonian systems case. The harmonic oscillator with a time-dependent frequency under the action of a complex time-dependent linear potential is considered as an illustrative example.
A non-Hermitian deformation of the one-dimensional transverse Ising model is shown to have the property of quasi-hermiticity. The transverse Ising chain is obtained from the starting non-Hermitian Hamiltonian through a similarity transformation. Consequently, both the models have identical eigen spectra, although the eigenfunctions are different. The metric in the Hilbert space, which makes the non-Hermitian model unitary and ensures the completeness of states, has been constructed explicitly. Although the longitudinal correlation functions are identical for both the non-Hermitian and the Hermitian Ising models, the difference shows up in the transverse correlation functions, which have been calculated explicitly and are not always real. A proper set of Hermitian spin operators in the Hilbert space of the non-Hermitian Hamiltonian has been identified, in terms of which all the correlation functions of the non-Hermitian Hamiltonian become real and identical to that of the standard transverse Ising model. Comments on the quantum phase transitions in the non-Hermitian model have been made.
A non-Hermitian operator H defined in a Hilbert space with inner product ⟨ · | · ⟩ may serve as the Hamiltonian for a unitary quantum system if it is η -pseudo-Hermitian for a metric operator (positive-definite automorphism) η . The latter defines the inner product ⟨ · | η · ⟩ of the physical Hilbert space H η of the system. For situations where some of the eigenstates of H depend on time, η becomes time-dependent. Therefore, the system has a non-stationary Hilbert space. Such quantum systems, which are also encountered in the study of quantum mechanics in cosmological backgrounds, suffer from a conflict between the unitarity of time evolution and the unobservability of the Hamiltonian. Their proper treatment requires a geometric framework which clarifies the notion of the energy observable and leads to a geometric extension of quantum mechanics (GEQM). We provide a general introduction to the subject, review some of the recent developments, offer a straightforward description of the Heisenberg-picture formulation of the dynamics for quantum systems having a time-dependent Hilbert space, and outline the Heisenberg-picture formulation of dynamics in GEQM.
Attempts to understand the quantum mechanics of non-Hermitian Hamiltonian systems can be traced back to the early days, one example being Heisenberg's endeavour to formulate a consistent model involving an indefinite metric. Over the years non-Hermitian Hamiltonians whose spectra were believed to be real have appeared from time to time in the literature, for instance in the study of strong interactions at high energies via Regge models, in condensed matter physics in the context of the XXZ-spin chain, in interacting boson models in nuclear physics, in integrable quantum field theories as Toda field theories with complex coupling constants, and also very recently in a field theoretical scenario in the quantization procedure of strings on an AdS 5 x S 5 background. Concrete experimental realizations of these types of systems in the form of optical lattices have been proposed in 2007. In the area of mathematical physics similar non-systematic results appeared sporadically over the years. However, intensive and more systematic investigation of these types of non- Hermitian Hamiltonians with real eigenvalue spectra only began about ten years ago, when the surprising discovery was made that a large class of one-particle systems perturbed by a simple non-Hermitian potential term possesses a real energy spectrum. Since then regular international workshops devoted to this theme have taken place. This special issue is centred around the 6th International Workshop on Pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonians in Quantum Physics held in July 2007 at City University London. All the contributions contain significant new results or alternatively provide a survey of the state of the art of the subject or a critical assessment of the present understanding of the topic and a discussion of open problems. Original contributions from non-participants were also invited. Meanwhile many interesting results have been obtained and consensus has been reached on various central conceptual issues in the growing community of this subject. It is, for instance, well understood that the reality of the spectrum can be attributed either to the unbroken PT-symmetry of the entire system, that is, invariance of the Hamiltonian and the corresponding wavefunctions under a simultaneous parity transformation and time reversal, or more generally to its pseudo-Hermiticity . When the spectrum is real and discrete the Hamiltonian is actually quasi-Hermitian, with a positive-definite metric operator, and can in principle be related by a similarity transformation to an isospectral Hermitian counterpart. For all approaches well-defined procedures have been developed, which allow one to construct metric operators and therefore a consistent description of the underlying quantum mechanical observables. Even though the general principles have been laid out, it remains a challenge in most concrete cases to implement the entire procedure. Solvable models in this sense, some of which may be found in this issue, remain a rare exception. Nonetheless, despite this progress some important questions are still unanswered. For instance, according to the current understanding the non-Hermitian Hamiltonian does not uniquely define the physics of the system since a meaningful metric can no longer be associated with the system in a non-trivial and unambiguous manner. A fully consistent scattering theory has also not yet been formulated. Other issues remain controversial, such as the quantum brachistochrone problem, the problem of forming a mixture between a Hermitian and non-Hermitian system, the new phenomenological possibilities of forming a kind of worm-hole effect, etc. We would like to acknowledge the financial support of the London Mathematical Society, the Institute of Physics, the Doppler Institute in Prague and the School of Engineering and Mathematical Science of City University London. We hope this special issue will be useful to the newcomer as well as to the expert in the subject. Participants of the 6th International Workshop on Pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonians in Quantum Physics.