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Journal of Mathematical Physics

A Continuous Representation of an Indefinite Metric Space

M. G. Gundzik

Published Apr 1, 1966• 6 citations
Publisher

Abstract

An overcomplete family of states (OFS) is constructed for a countably infinite linear vector space with an indefinite metric for the case that the metric is diagonal with eigenvalues (−1)n, where n is an integer. A continuous representation is indicated and the properties of a semiclassical description of a quantum mechanical system (the pseudo oscillator whose creation and destruction operators ā and ā+ satisfy [ā, ā+] = −1) defined in this vector space are studied. It is found that a consistent OFS |z> can be constructed if the operator G(z) which generates the state |z> from the vacuum is unitary. Furthermore, with the statistical state of this system specified by a bounded pseudo-Hermitian density matrix ρ̄, the related semiclassical complex function ρA(z) for antinormal ordering of operators in the indefinite metric space is found to be bounded, with ρA(z) and [ρA(z)]2 integrable, continuous, and a boundary value of an entire analytic function of two complex variables. The semiclassical function ρN(z) for normal ordering is associated with a sequence of functions ρN(ν)(z) whose square is integrable and related to a sequence of tempered distributions ρN(ν) such that the corresponding sequence of density matrices ρ̄(ν) converges to ρ̄ in the norm.

DOI
10.1063/1.1704977

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An overcomplete family of states (OFS) is constructed for a countably infinite linear vector space with an indefinite metric for the case that the metric is diagonal with eigenvalues (−1)n, where n is an integer. A continuous representation is indicated and the properties of a semiclassical description of a quantum mechanical system (the pseudo oscillator whose creation and destruction operators ā and ā+ satisfy [ā, ā+] = −1) defined in this vector space are studied. It is found that a consistent OFS |z> can be constructed if the operator G(z) which generates the state |z> from the vacuum is unitary. Furthermore, with the statistical state of this system specified by a bounded pseudo-Hermitian density matrix ρ̄, the related semiclassical complex function ρA(z) for antinormal ordering of operators in the indefinite metric space is found to be bounded, with ρA(z) and [ρA(z)]2 integrable, continuous, and a boundary value of an entire analytic function of two complex variables. The semiclassical function ρN(z) for normal ordering is associated with a sequence of functions ρN(ν)(z) whose square is integrable and related to a sequence of tempered distributions ρN(ν) such that the corresponding sequence of density matrices ρ̄(ν) converges to ρ̄ in the norm.
It is proved that every density matrix is the limit, in the sense of weak operator convergence, of a sequence of operators each of which may be represented as an integral over projection operators onto coherent states (in the sense of Glauber) with a square-integrable weight function. This result is a special case of one that holds for all operators with trace and for overcomplete families of states other than just the coherent states. We prove our more general result, at no cost of complexity, within the more general framework of continuous-representation theory. The significance of our results for representing traces of operators is indicated.
The problem of relating the semiclassical and quantum treatments of statistical states of an optical field is re-examined. The case where the rule of association between functions and operators is that of antinormal ordering is studied in detail. It is shown that the distribution function for each mode corresponding to this case is a continuous bounded function, and is also a boundary value of an entire analytic function of two variables. The nature of the distribution for the normal ordering rule of association and its relation to this entire function are discussed. It is shown that this distribution can be regarded as the limit of a sequence of tempered distributions in the following sense: One can find a sequence of density operators ${\stackrel{^}{\ensuremath{\rho}}}_{(\ensuremath{\nu})}$ which converges in the norm to the density operator $\stackrel{^}{\ensuremath{\rho}}$ of any given field (consisting of a single mode), such that each member of the sequence can be expressed in the form ${\stackrel{^}{\ensuremath{\rho}}}_{(\ensuremath{\nu})}=\ensuremath{\int}{\ensuremath{\varphi}}_{(\ensuremath{\nu})}(z)|z〉〈z|{d}^{2}z$, where ${\ensuremath{\varphi}}_{(\ensuremath{\nu})}$ is a tempered distribution.
Using the Pais-Uhlenbeck oscillator as a toy model, we outline a consistent alternative to the indefinite-metric quantization scheme that does not violate unitarity. We describe the basic mathematical structure of this method by giving an explicit construction of the Hilbert space of state vectors and the corresponding creation and annihilation operators. The latter satisfy the usual bosonic commutation relation and differ from those of the indefinite-metric theories by a sign in the definition of the creation operator. This change of sign achieves a definitization of the indefinite metric that gives life to the ghost states without changing their contribution to the energy spectrum.
We present the formulation of a version of Lorentz covariant quantum mechanics based on a group theoretical construction from a Heisenberg–Weyl symmetry with position and momentum operators transforming as Minkowski four-vectors. The basic representation is identified as a coherent state representation, essentially an irreducible component of the regular representation, with the matching representation of an extension of the group C*-algebra giving the algebra of observables. The key feature is that it is not unitary but pseudo-unitary, exactly in the same sense as the Minkowski spacetime representation. The language of pseudo-Hermitian quantum mechanics is adopted for a clear illustration of the aspect, with a metric operator obtained as really the manifestation of the Minkowski metric on the space of the state vectors. Explicit wavefunction description is given without any restriction of the variable domains, yet with a finite integral inner product. The associated covariant harmonic oscillator Fock state basis has all the standard properties in exact analog to those of a harmonic oscillator with Euclidean position and momentum operators. Galilean limit and the classical limit are retrieved rigorously through appropriate symmetry contractions of the algebra and its representation, including the dynamics described through the symmetry of the phase space.
Pseudo-Hermitian quantum theories are those in which the Hamiltonian H satisfies H† = ηHη-1, where η = e-Q is a positive-definite Hermitian operator, rather than the usual H† = H. In the operator formulation of such theories the standard Hilbert-space metric must be modified by the inclusion of η in order to ensure their probabilistic interpretation. With possible generalizations to quantum field theory in mind, it is important to ask how the functional integral formalism for pseudo-Hermitian theories differs from that of standard theories. It turns out that here Q plays quite a different role, serving primarily to implement a canonical transformation of the variables. It does not appear explicitly in the expression for the vacuum generating functional. Instead, the relation to the Hermitian theory is encoded via the dependence of Z on the external source j(t). These points are illustrated and amplified in various versions of the Swanson model, a non-Hermitian transform of the simple harmonic oscillator.
We study metric representations in finite-dimensional non-Hermitian quantum mechanics. The main purpose of this work is to emphasize that the physical description of a non-Hermitian system may be formulated in different, but isomorphic, Hilbert spaces. In particular, within the Krein-space formalism, we show that the vector space endowed with an indefinite Krein metric can be explicitly related to the standard Hilbert space through a suitable isomorphism. This observation is essential for a consistent description of non-Hermitian Hamiltonians. Physical states, metrics, and operators must be transported through the corresponding Hilbert-space isomorphism. In this way, equivalent representations of the same system can be used without changing the physical content of the theory. We illustrate these theoretical aspects by studying a two-level non-Hermitian spin model. We use the Robertson uncertainty relation as a consistency test. Apparent violations can arise when operators and states are kept fixed while the metric is changed, and therefore reflect a mismatch of representations rather than a failure of the uncertainty principle.