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arXiv:2308.13914

Hellmann Feynman Theorem in Non-Hermitian system

Gaurav Hajong, Ranjan Modak, Bhabani Prasad Mandal

Published Aug 26, 2023• 0 citations
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Abstract

We revisit the celebrated Hellmann-Feynman theorem (HFT) in the PT invariant non-Hermitian quantum physics framework. We derive a modified version of HFT by changing the definition of inner product and explicitly show that it holds good for both PT broken, unbroken phases and even at the exceptional point of the theory. The derivation is extremely general and works for even PT non-invariant Hamiltonian. We consider several examples of discrete and continuum systems to test our results. We find that if the eigenvalue goes through a real to complex transition as a function of the Hermiticity breaking parameter, both sides of the modified HFT expression diverge at that point. If that point turns out to be an EP of the PT invariant quantum theory, then one also sees the divergence at EP. Finally, we also derive a generalized Virial theorem for non-Hermitian systems using the modified HFT, which potentially can be tested in experiments.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2308.13914

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We revisit the celebrated Hellmann-Feynman theorem (HFT) in the PT invariant non-Hermitian quantum physics framework. We derive a modified version of HFT by changing the definition of inner product and explicitly show that it holds good for both PT broken, unbroken phases and even at the exceptional point of the theory. The derivation is extremely general and works for even PT non-invariant Hamiltonian. We consider several examples of discrete and continuum systems to test our results. We find that if the eigenvalue goes through a real to complex transition as a function of the Hermiticity breaking parameter, both sides of the modified HFT expression diverge at that point. If that point turns out to be an EP of the PT invariant quantum theory, then one also sees the divergence at EP. Finally, we also derive a generalized Virial theorem for non-Hermitian systems using the modified HFT, which potentially can be tested in experiments.
We revisit the celebrated Hellmann-Feynman theorem (HFT) in the parity-time (PT)(\mathcal{PT})(PT) invariant non-Hermitian quantum physics framework. We derive a modified version of HFT by changing the definition of inner product and explicitly show that it holds good for both PT\mathcal{PT}PT broken and unbroken phases and even at the exceptional point of the theory. The derivation is extremely general and works for even the PT\mathcal{PT}PT noninvariant Hamiltonian. We consider several examples of discrete and continuum variable systems to test our results. We find that, if the eigenvalue goes through a real-to-complex transition as a function of the Hermiticity breaking parameter, both sides of the modified HFT expression diverge at that point. If that point turns out to be an EP of the PT\mathcal{PT}PT-invariant quantum theory, then one also sees the divergence at EP. Moreover, we have also demonstrated that using the modified HFT can give rise to a potential numerical advantage for computing the expectation value of many-body operators for interacting many-body Hamiltonian. Finally, we also derive a generalized virial theorem for non-Hermitian systems using the modified HFT, which potentially can be tested in experiments.
We point out that two of the most important theorems of Quantum Mechanics, the Ehrenfest theorem and the Hellmann-Feynman theorem, lack in their standard form important information: there are cases where non-Hermitian boundary contributions emerge. These contributions actually appear naturally, in order for the above theorems to be valid and applicable (i.e. in multiply-connected spaces), and this occurs for physical quantities that are not represented by well-defined self-adjoint operators (such as the position operator in a periodic potential, or in general Aharonov-Bohm configurations, either in real or in an arbitrary parameter-space, in the sense of Berry's adiabatic and cyclic procedures). In this short note, we report modifications of these two theorems when such non-Hermiticities appear, and we demonstrate how they resolve certain Quantum Mechanical paradoxes (most of them having been noticed in the past as violations of the so-called Hypervirial theorem in Quantum Chemistry). This resolution of paradoxes (essentially the re-establishment of applicability of the Ehrenfest theorem even in multiply-connected spaces) always proceeds through the appearance of certain generalized currents, in a theoretical picture with interesting structure (where a generalized continuity equation with a sink term shows up naturally).
Abstract Currently there is much interest in Hamiltonians that are not Hermitian but instead possess an antilinear PT symmetry. Here we seek to put such PT symmetric theories into as general a context as possible. After providing a brief overview of the PT symmetry program, we show that having an antilinear symmetry that acts on a well-defined Hilbert space is the most general condition that one can impose on a quantum theory for which one can have a well-defined inner product that is time independent, have a Hamiltonian that is self-adjoint, and have energy eigenvalues that are all real. For each of these properties Hermiticity is only a sufficient condition but not a necessary one, with Hermiticity thus being the special case in which the Hamiltonian has both antilinearity and Hermiticity. As well as being the necessary condition for the reality of energy eigenvalues, antilinearity in addition allows for the physically interesting cases of manifestly non-Hermitian but nonetheless self-adjoint Hamiltonians that have energy eigenvalues that appear in complex conjugate pairs, or that are Jordan block and cannot be diagonalized at all. We show that one can extend these ideas to quantum field theory, with the dual requirements of the existence of time independent inner products and invariance under complex Lorentz transformations forcing the antilinear symmetry to uniquely be CPT . We thus extend the CPT theorem to non-Hermitian Hamiltonians. For theories that are separately charge conjugation invariant, PT symmetry then follows, with the case for the physical relevance of the PT -symmetry program thus being advanced. While CPT symmetry can be defined at the classical level for every classical path in a path integral quantization procedure, in contrast, in such a path integral there is no reference at all to the Hermiticity of the Hamiltonian or the quantum Hilbert space on which it acts, as they are strictly quantum-mechanical concepts that can only be defined after the path integral quantization has been performed and the quantum Hilbert space has been constructed. CPT symmetry thus goes beyond Hermiticity and has primacy over it, with our work raising the question of how Hermiticity ever comes into quantum theory at all. To this end we show that whether or not a CPT -invariant theory has a Hamiltonian that is Hermitian is a property of the solutions to the theory and not of the Hamiltonian itself. Hermiticity thus never needs to be postulated at all.
Currently, it has been claimed that certain Hermitian Hamiltonians have parity (P) and they are PT-invariant. We propose generalized definitions of time-reversal operator (T) and orthonormality such that all Hermitian Hamiltonians are P, T, PT, and CPT invariant. The PT-norm and CPT-norm are indefinite and definite respectively. The energy-eigenstates are either E-type (e.g., even) or O-type (e.g., odd). C mimics the charge-conjugation symmetry which is recently found to exist for a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian. For a Hermitian Hamiltonian it coincides with P. The Hamiltonians which are invariant under the joint transformation of Parity (x → −x) and Time-reversal (i → −i) are called PT-invariant. It has been conjectured [1] that such Hamiltonians possess real discrete energy-eigenvalues provided the PT symmetry is unbroken. PT-symmetry is called unbroken or exact if the energy-eigenstates are also simultaneous eigenstates of PT. On the other hand when PT-symmetry is spontaneously broken the energy-eigenvalues are complex conjugate pairs. Multipronged investigations supporting
We present a phase-space study of a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian with PT\mathcal{PT}PT symmetry based on the Wigner distribution function. For an arbitrary complex potential, we derive a generalized continuity equation for the Wigner function flow and calculate the related circulation values. Studying the vicinity of an exceptional point, we show that a PT\mathcal{PT}PT-symmetric phase transition from an unbroken PT\mathcal{PT}PT-symmetry phase to a broken one is a second-order phase transition.