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Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A Mathematical Physical and Engineering Sciences

2 × 2 PT -symmetric matrices and their applications

Qinghai Wang

Published Mar 19, 2013• 13 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Two formulations for constructing a non-Hermitian matrix with all real eigenvalues are studied. They are called PT symmetry and pseudo-Hermiticity in the literature. Explicit 2×2 matrices of both forms are provided. They are characterized by six real parameters and are hence more general than Hermitian matrices. The equivalence of the two formulations is established. A 2×2 matrix with all real eigenvalues is PT-symmetric and pseudo-Hermitian at the same time. The application in time-dependent problems is discussed and a new geometry phase is obtained.

DOI
10.1098/rsta.2012.0045

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Two formulations for constructing a non-Hermitian matrix with all real eigenvalues are studied. They are called PT symmetry and pseudo-Hermiticity in the literature. Explicit 2×2 matrices of both forms are provided. They are characterized by six real parameters and are hence more general than Hermitian matrices. The equivalence of the two formulations is established. A 2×2 matrix with all real eigenvalues is PT-symmetric and pseudo-Hermitian at the same time. The application in time-dependent problems is discussed and a new geometry phase is obtained.
We introduce the notion of pseudo-Hermiticity and show that every Hamiltonian with a real spectrum is pseudo-Hermitian. We point out that all the PT-symmetric non-Hermitian Hamiltonians studied in the literature belong to the class of pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonians, and argue that the basic structure responsible for the particular spectral properties of these Hamiltonians is their pseudo-Hermiticity. We explore the basic properties of general pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonians, develop pseudosupersymmetric quantum mechanics, and study some concrete examples, namely the Hamiltonian of the two-component Wheeler–DeWitt equation for the FRW-models coupled to a real massive scalar field and a class of pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonians with a real spectrum.
We introduce the notion of pseudo-Hermiticity and show that every Hamiltonian with a real spectrum is pseudo-Hermitian. We point out that all the PT-symmetric non-Hermitian Hamiltonians studied in the literature belong to the class of pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonians, and argue that the basic structure responsible for the particular spectral properties of these Hamiltonians is their pseudo-Hermiticity. We explore the basic properties of general pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonians, develop pseudo-supersymmetric quantum mechanics, and study some concrete examples, namely the Hamiltonian of the two-component Wheeler-DeWitt equation for the FRW-models coupled to a real massive scalar field and a class of pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonians with a real spectrum.
We notice that non-linear oscillator Hamiltonian having the character of non-Hermitian (H≠H+)(H \ne H^{+})(H=H+), non-PT Symmetry ([H,PT]≠0)([H,PT] \ne 0)([H,PT]=0) and non-Pseudohermiticity (ηHη−1≠H+)(\eta H \eta^{-1}\ne H^{+})(ηHη−1=H+) can yield real eigenvalues.
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 = p 2 + x 2 (ix) ǫ of the harmonic oscillator Hamiltonian, where ǫ is a real parameter.The system exhibits two phases: When ǫ ≥ 0, the energy spectrum of H is real and positive as a consequence of PT symmetry.However, when -1 < ǫ < 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 ǫ = 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 = p 2 + x 2N (ix) ǫ with N integer and ǫ > -N ; each of these complex Hamiltonians exhibits a phase transition at ǫ = 0.These PT -symmetric theories may be viewed as analytic continuations of conventional theories from real to complex phase space.
We show that a diagonalizable (non-Hermitian) Hamiltonian H is pseudo-Hermitian if and only if it has an antilinear symmetry, i.e., a symmetry generated by an invertible antilinear operator. This implies that the eigenvalues of H are real or come in complex conjugate pairs if and only if H possesses such a symmetry. In particular, the reality of the spectrum of H implies the presence of an antilinear symmetry. We further show that the spectrum of H is real if and only if there is a positive-definite inner-product on the Hilbert space with respect to which H is Hermitian or alternatively there is a pseudo-canonical transformation of the Hilbert space that maps H into a Hermitian operator.
In this paper we investigate time-dependent non-Hermitian Hamiltonians, which consist of SU(1,1) and SU(2) generators. The former Hamiltonian is PT symmetric but the latter one is not. A time-dependent non-unitary operator is proposed to construct the non-Hermitian invariant, which is verified as pseudo-Hermitian with real eigenvalues. The exact solutions are obtained in terms of the eigenstates of the pseudo-Hermitian invariant operator for both the SU(1,1) and SU(2) systems in a unified manner. Then, we derive the Lewis–Riesenfeld (LR) phase, which can be separated into the dynamic and the geometrical phases. The analytical results are well consistent with those of the corresponding Hermitian Hamiltonians reported in the literature.