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Journal of Mathematical Physics

The space of state vectors: A hyperfinite approach

J. Almeida, João Teixeira

Published Dec 19, 2003• 5 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We present a version of the formalism of Dirac based on nonstandard analysis, allowing us to deal with state vectors and operators using the resources of finite-dimensional linear algebra. The space of state vectors is a nonstandard Hilbert space with hyperfinite dimension, which includes all square-integrable functions, together with vectors representing states of definite position or momentum. Every vector is normalizable, even when its norm is infinite. Observables are represented by Hermitian operators, which are always (hyper)bounded and defined on the whole space. The connection with the standard theory is established by postulating the existence of “hyper-observables” and nonstandard states. Each observable in the usual sense appears as a kind of standard-scale approximation of some hyper-observable. We show that the probabilistic predictions are consistent with those of the standard theory. Consistency extends to time evolution, in the sense that if an initial nonstandard state is “near-standard,” then the state after a finite time shall be infinitely near the standard state obtained through the Schrödinger equation.

DOI
10.1063/1.1631394

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We present a version of the formalism of Dirac based on nonstandard analysis, allowing us to deal with state vectors and operators using the resources of finite-dimensional linear algebra. The space of state vectors is a nonstandard Hilbert space with hyperfinite dimension, which includes all square-integrable functions, together with vectors representing states of definite position or momentum. Every vector is normalizable, even when its norm is infinite. Observables are represented by Hermitian operators, which are always (hyper)bounded and defined on the whole space. The connection with the standard theory is established by postulating the existence of “hyper-observables” and nonstandard states. Each observable in the usual sense appears as a kind of standard-scale approximation of some hyper-observable. We show that the probabilistic predictions are consistent with those of the standard theory. Consistency extends to time evolution, in the sense that if an initial nonstandard state is “near-standard,” then the state after a finite time shall be infinitely near the standard state obtained through the Schrödinger equation.
We use nonstandard analysis to formulate quantum mechanics in hyperfinite-dimensional spaces. Self-adjoint operators on hyperfinite-dimensional spaces have complete eigensets, and bound states and continuum states of a Hamiltonian can thus be treated on an equal footing. We show that the formalism extends the standard formulation of quantum mechanics. To this end we develop the Loeb-function calculus in nonstandard hulls. The idea is to perform calculations in a hyperfinite-dimensional space, but to interpret expectation values in the corresponding nonstandard hull. We further apply the framework to nonrelativistic quantum scattering theory. For time-dependent scattering theory, we identify the starting time and the finishing time of a scattering experiment, and we obtain a natural separation of time scales on which the preparation process, the interaction process, and the detection process take place. For time-independent scattering theory, we derive rigorously explicit formulas for the Mo/ller wave operators and the S-matrix.
Quantum mechanics is formulated using a nonstandard Hilbert space. The concept of an eigen vector of a linear operator, which applies to standard as well as nonstandard Hilbert spaces, is replaced by the more general concept of an ultra eigen vector, which applies to nonstandard Hilbert spaces alone. Ultra eigen vectors corresponding to all spectral points of internal self−adjoint operators are proved to exist. This result enables us to set up a formalism which is equally valid for the discrete, as well as the continuous spectrum. Finally, Dirac’s formalism is reproduced, in a rigorous form within the nonstandard Hilbert space structure.
We review the postulates of quantum mechanics with respect to the representation of physical states and measurable quantities, their time evolution, and the interpretation of measurements. We first formulate the postulates in terms of wave functions and differential operators, and then reformulate them in the abstract Hilbert space of state vectors, using Dirac’s notations. Improper states subject to Dirac’s delta normalization are introduced, and the space of physical states is extended to include them. The postulates are rationalized by associating each Hermitian linear operator with a complete orthonormal system of its eigenvectors, where measurement probabilities depend on the projections of these eigenvectors on the system’s state vector. Particularly, wave functions are identified as projections of state vectors on the position operator eigenstates. State vectors representing multidimensional systems are formulated as tensor products of vectors in their subspaces. Finally, we address the general uncertainty relations in simultaneous measurements of different observables.
Linear algebra is the natural mathematical language of quantum mechanics. For this reason, the present chapter starts with a review of Hilbert spaces for vectors and operators. We introduce vector and Hilbert spaces along with inner products and metrics. The Dirac notation is developed for the Euclidean vector spaces as a starting point for the concepts of complete orthonormal sets of vectors, closure, dual vector spaces, and adjoint operators. The Dirac delta function in various forms and the principal part is introduced in Appendix 5 as an essential tool. The chapter turns to the main use of Dirac notation for function spaces; the concepts of norm, inner product, and closure are discussed. Fourier, Cosine, and Sine series are discussed as examples of expansions in complete orthonormal sets of functions. Although Hilbert spaces are interesting mathematical objects with important physical applications, the study of linear algebra remains incomplete without a study of linear operators (i.e., linear transformations). In fact, the set of linear transformations itself forms a vector space and therefore has a basis set. The basis set for the operator is linked with the basis sets for the spaces that it operates between. The linear operator can be discussed as an abstract operator or through an isomorphism as a matrix or as a generalized expansion in operator space. A Hermitian (a.k.a., self-adjoint) operator produces a basis set within a Hilbert space. The basis set comes from the eigenvector equation for the particular operator. The fact that a Hermitian operator produces a complete set (of orthornomal vectors) has special importance for quantum mechanics. Observables such as energy or momentum correspond to Hermitian operators. Complete sets make it possible to represent every possible result of a measurement of the observable by an object (vector) in the theory. The Hermitian operators have real eigenvalues which represent the results of the measurement.
Classical mechanics is usually valid at the macro scale. The changes in the position and the momentum of the object over time are described by the Hamiltonian equation of motion. The wave function in quantum mechanics, if unobserved, evolves in a smooth and continuous way according to the Schrodinger equation, which is related to the Hamiltonian equation of motion. This equation describes a linear superposition of different states at time. A quantum mechanical description of a physical system is related to a probabilistic representation; it is described by a vector in Hilbert space. This description extends the two- or three-dimensional Euclidean space into spaces that have any finite or infinite number of dimensions. The state of a compound system is projected to the subspace that corresponds to the observed state and the vector representing the state is renormalized to the unit length. An observable describes a subspace for some dimensions with a special case of one dimension.
Abstract In this chapter we present the mathematical framework of describing wave functions as vectors in a Hilbert space and observables as Hermitian operators on such a vector space. We describe the mathematical formulation of these ideas for finite and infinite-dimensional cases via the Dirac notation, and discuss the example of the Hilbert space of photon polarization. Important classes of linear operators on Hilbert spaces are discussed, including projectors, Hermitian and self-adjoint operators, as well as unitary operators. As an important centre piece for the mathematical language of quantum mechanics we present the spectral theorem. We discuss the subtleties of this framework in infinite dimensions, giving a brief overview of the distributional aspects of quantum mechanics and the conceptually important problem of finding self-adjoint extensions via the Weyl-von Neumann theorem