Abstract The widely cited definition of quantization in terms of square‐integrable wave functions does not apply to continuum wave functions, to such phenomena as metastable states, or many‐body resonances. A better philosophical foundation for quantum mechanics separates the probabilistic aspects based on square integrable Hilbert space functions from the dynamical aspects based upon the solutions of Shroedinger's (or Dirac's) equation. A Hilbert space may have a non‐Hilbert space basis, which may be described by Stieltjes integrals and a spectrum measure. This viewpoint is expounded by reference to a very detailed analysis of a simple model, through which a precise definition of a Bohr–Feshbach resonance can be given. We propose a definition of a “metastable state,” showing that it is consistent with accepted usage, and that it overcomes a series of objections which have been catalogued by Simon. Its rate of decay is given by the Fourier–Stieltjes transform of the spectral density function; it is moreover the longest‐lived initially localized state which can be formed from a small span of energy eigenfunctions near its mean energy.
Abstract The widely cited definition of quantization in terms of square‐integrable wave functions does not apply to continuum wave functions, to such phenomena as metastable states, or many‐body resonances. A better philosophical foundation for quantum mechanics separates the probabilistic aspects based on square integrable Hilbert space functions from the dynamical aspects based upon the solutions of Shroedinger's (or Dirac's) equation. A Hilbert space may have a non‐Hilbert space basis, which may be described by Stieltjes integrals and a spectrum measure. This viewpoint is expounded by reference to a very detailed analysis of a simple model, through which a precise definition of a Bohr–Feshbach resonance can be given. We propose a definition of a “metastable state,” showing that it is consistent with accepted usage, and that it overcomes a series of objections which have been catalogued by Simon. Its rate of decay is given by the Fourier–Stieltjes transform of the spectral density function; it is moreover the longest‐lived initially localized state which can be formed from a small span of energy eigenfunctions near its mean energy.
We consider the dynamics of quantum systems which possess stationary states as well as slowly decaying, metastable states arising from the perturbation of bound states. We give a decomposition of the propagator into a sum of a stationary part, one exponentially decaying in time and a polynomially decaying remainder. The exponential decay rates and the directions of decay in Hilbert space are determined, respectively, by complex resonance energies and by projections onto resonance states. Our approach is based on an elementary application of the Feshbach map. It is applicable to open quantum systems and to situations where spectral deformation theory fails. We derive a detailed description of the dynamics of the spin-boson model at arbitrary coupling strength.
Abstract. We provide probabilistic interpretation of resonant states. This we do by showing that the integral of the modulus square of resonance wave functions (i.e., the conventional norm) over a properly expanding spatial domain is independent of time, and therefore leads to probability conservation. This is in contrast with the conventional employment of a bi-orthogonal basis that precludes probabilistic interpretation, since wave functions of resonant states diverge exponentially in space. On the other hand, resonant states decay exponentially in time, because momentum leaks out of the central scattering area. This momentum leakage is also the reason for the spatial exponential divergence of resonant state. It is by combining the opposite temporal and spatial behaviors of resonant states that we arrive at our probabilistic interpretation of these states. The physical need to normalize resonant wave functions over an expanding spatial domain arises because particles leak out of the region which contains the potential range and escape to infinity, and one has to include them in the total count of particle number.
We present a mathematical theory of metastable pure states in closed many-body quantum systems with finite-dimensional Hilbert space. Given a Hamiltonian, a pure state is defined to be metastable when all sufficiently local operators either stabilize the state or raise its average energy. We prove that short-range-entangled metastable states are necessarily eigenstates (scars) of a perturbatively close Hamiltonian. Given any metastable eigenstate of a Hamiltonian, in the presence of perturbations, we prove the presence of prethermal behavior: Local correlation functions decay at a rate bounded by a timescale nonperturbatively long in the inverse metastability radius, rather than Fermi’s golden rule. Inspired by this general theory, we prove that the lifetime of the false vacuum in certain d -dimensional quantum models grows at least as fast as exp ( ε − d ) , where ε → 0 is the relative energy density of the false vacuum; this lower bound matches, for the first time, explicit calculations using quantum field theory. We identify metastable states at finite energy density in the PXP model, along with exponentially many metastable states in “helical” spin chains and the two-dimensional Ising model. Our inherently quantum formalism reveals precise connections between many problems, including prethermalization, robust quantum scars, and quantum nucleation theory, and applies to systems without known semiclassical and/or field-theoretic limits.
Abstract. We provide probabilistic interpretation of resonant states. We do this by showing that the integral of the modulus square of resonance wave functions (i.e., the conventional norm) over a properly expanding spatial domain is independent of time, and therefore leads to probability conservation. This is in contrast with the conventional employment of a bi-orthogonal basis that precludes probabilistic interpretation, since wave functions of resonant states diverge exponentially in space. On the other hand, resonant states decay exponentially in time, because momentum leaks out of the central scattering area. This momentum leakage is also the reason for the spatial exponential divergence of resonant state. It is by combining the opposite temporal and spatial behaviours of resonant states that we arrive at our probabilistic interpretation of these states. The physical need to normalize resonant wave functions over an expanding spatial domain arises because particles leak out of the region which contains the potential range and escape to infinity, and one has to include them in the total count of particles.
As discussed in the previous chapter, the poles of the S-matrix are identified with discrete eigenvalues of the time-independent Schrödinger equation, where the asymptotes of the corresponding eigenfunctions are either purely outgoing waves or purely incoming waves. More specifically, the bound and decay resonance poles are obtained by imposing the outgoing boundary conditions on the solutions of the time-independent Schrödinger equation, while the anti-bound and virtual states (sometimes referred to as capture resonances) are associated with the solutions obtained under the requirement of the incoming boundary conditions. Except for the bound states, all other poles of the S-matrix are associated with exponentially divergent wavefunctions which by definition do not belong to the Hilbert space of conventional Hermitian quantum mechanics. This fact represents a major difficulty for the development of a non-Hermitian quantum mechanical formalism. Consequently, one may wonder, for example, how to properly define an inner product in non-Hermitian quantum mechanics (NHQM) if the wavefunctions diverge asymptotically. We recall in this context that the concept of an inner product constitutes a fundamental building block of standard (Hermitian) quantum mechanics (QM), by means of which one defines the quantum mechanical expectation values of physically observable quantities over the quantum states under consideration. An inner product for NHQM is necessary in order to accommodate the tools of conventional QM. Furthermore, one might anticipate that an appropriate NHQM inner product would also facilitate practical numerical calculation of the S-matrix poles for those cases where the eigenvalues of the Hamiltonian do not possess an analytical closed form expression (unlike the cases studied in the previous chapter).
Abstract In Nature various metastable states appear, i.e., states which, even though they behave like stationary states for a time duration longer than their characteristic periods of quantum motion, after much longer times make transitions to states in the continuum, i.e., decay. It suffices to think of all the excited states of atoms and molecules, or unstable nuclei, to realize the ubiquitous nature of the problem. Many examples of these processes have already been treated in the context of perturbation theory in Section 9.4; an analysis of a particle in external potentials has been made in the semi-classical approximation in Chapter 11.