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Physical Review A

Periodic pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonian: Nonadiabatic geometric phase

Mustapha Maamache

Published Sep 8, 2015• 29 citations
Publisher

Abstract

It is well known that Hermitian operators have real eigenvalues while non-Hermitian ones may have complex eigenvalues. Recently, numerical and analytical results indicated that the spectra of many non-Hermitians Hamiltonians $H$ are indeed real if they are invariant under the combined action of self-adjoint parity $P$ and time reversal $T.$ The concept of a pseudo-Hermitian operator showed that the remarkable spectral properties of the $PT$-symmetric Hamiltonians follow from their pseudo-Hermiticity. It is possible to explain these observations by the concept of pseudo-Hermitian operators and to formulate completeness and orthonormality relations. Most of the effort has been devoted to study time-independent non-Hermitian systems. In this paper, we study the exactly solvable time-dependent periodic pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonians. The method introduced, to make the reality of eigenvalues and phases, is based on a Floquet decomposition of the evolution operator ${U}^{H}(t)={Z}^{H}(t)exp(i{M}^{H}t)$ associated with the periodic pseudo-hermitian Hamiltonian $H(t)=H(t+T)$. One of the results found in this paper concerns a calculation of Berry's phase for periodic, but not necessarily adiabatic, pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonians. A two-level pseudo-Hermitian system is discussed as an illustrative example.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.92.032106

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It is well known that Hermitian operators have real eigenvalues while non-Hermitian ones may have complex eigenvalues. Recently, numerical and analytical results indicated that the spectra of many non-Hermitians Hamiltonians HHH are indeed real if they are invariant under the combined action of self-adjoint parity PPP and time reversal T.T.T. The concept of a pseudo-Hermitian operator showed that the remarkable spectral properties of the PTPTPT-symmetric Hamiltonians follow from their pseudo-Hermiticity. It is possible to explain these observations by the concept of pseudo-Hermitian operators and to formulate completeness and orthonormality relations. Most of the effort has been devoted to study time-independent non-Hermitian systems. In this paper, we study the exactly solvable time-dependent periodic pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonians. The method introduced, to make the reality of eigenvalues and phases, is based on a Floquet decomposition of the evolution operator UH(t)=ZH(t)exp(iMHt){U}^{H}(t)={Z}^{H}(t)exp(i{M}^{H}t)UH(t)=ZH(t)exp(iMHt) associated with the periodic pseudo-hermitian Hamiltonian H(t)=H(t+T)H(t)=H(t+T)H(t)=H(t+T). One of the results found in this paper concerns a calculation of Berry's phase for periodic, but not necessarily adiabatic, pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonians. A two-level pseudo-Hermitian system is discussed as an illustrative example.
We propose a scheme to deal with certain time-dependent non-Hermitian Hamiltonian operators H(t)H(t)H(t) that generate a real phase in their time-evolution. This involves the use of invariant operators IPH(t)I_{PH}(t)IPH​(t) that are pseudo-Hermitian with respect to the time-dependent metric operator and which implies that the dynamics is governed by unitary time evolution. Furthermore, H(t)H(t)H(t) is not generally quasi-Hermitian and does not define an observable of the system but IPH(t)I_{PH}(t)IPH​(t) obeys a quasi-hermiticity transformation as in the completely time-independent Hamiltonian systems case. The harmonic oscillator with a time-dependent frequency under the action of a complex time-dependent linear potential is considered as an illustrative example.
For a T-periodic non-Hermitian Hamiltonian H(t), we construct a class of adiabatic cyclic states of period T which are not eigenstates of the initial Hamiltonian H(0). We show that the corresponding adiabatic geometric phase angles are real and discuss their relationship with the conventional complex adiabatic geometric phase angles. We present a detailed calculation of the new adiabatic cyclic states and their geometric phases for a non-Hermitian analog of the spin 1/2 particle in a precessing magnetic field. Since the publication of Berry’s paper [1] on the adiabatic geometrical phase, the subject has undergone a rapid development. Berry’s adiabatic geometric phase for periodic Hermitian Hamiltonians with a discrete nondegenerate spectrum has been generalized to arbitrary changes of a quantum state. In particular, the conditions on the adiabaticity [2] and cyclicity [3, 4, 5] of the evolution, Hermiticity of the Hamiltonian [6], and degeneracy [7] and discreteness [8] of its spectrum have been lifted. Moreover, the classical [9] and relativistic [10] analogues of the geometric phase have been considered. The purpose of this note is to offer an alternative generalization of Berry’s treatment of the adiabatic geometric phase for a non-Hermitian parametric Hamiltonian H[R] with a nondegenerate discrete spectrum. The parameters R = (R1, · · ·, Rn) are assumed to be real ∗E-mail address:
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.
A possible method to investigate non-Hermitian Hamiltonians is suggested through finding a Hermitian operator η+ and defining the annihilation and creation operators to be η+ -pseudo-Hermitian adjoint to each other. The operator η+ represents the η+ -pseudo-Hermiticity of Hamiltonians. As an example, a non-Hermitian and non-PT-symmetric Hamiltonian with imaginary linear coordinate and linear momentum terms is constructed and analyzed in detail. The operator η+ is found, based on which, a real spectrum and a positive-definite inner product, together with the probability explanation of wave functions, the orthogonality of eigenstates, and the unitarity of time evolution, are obtained for the non-Hermitian and non-PT-symmetric Hamiltonian. Moreover, this Hamiltonian turns out to be coupled when it is extended to the canonical noncommutative space with noncommutative spatial coordinate operators and noncommutative momentum operators as well. Our method is applicable to the coupled Hamiltonian. Then the first and second order noncommutative corrections of energy levels are calculated, and in particular the reality of energy spectra, the positive-definiteness of inner products, and the related properties (the probability explanation of wave functions, the orthogonality of eigenstates, and the unitarity of time evolution) are found not to be altered by the noncommutativity.
In a quantum system initially in the nnn-th eigenstate, an adiabatic evolution of the Hamiltonian ensures that the system remains in the corresponding instantaneous eigenstate while acquiring a phase factor. This phase has two components: one resulting from standard time evolution and another associated with the dependence of the eigenstate on the varying Hamiltonian, known as the Berry phase. In this work, we explore the concept of geometric amplitudes in the context of a Hermitian Hamiltonian. We introduce the notion of geometric amplitude and provide a novel derivation of this concept. Our study reveals that a system undergoing cyclic evolution under adiabatic conditions acquires an additional amplitude factor of purely geometric origin. To illustrate this idea, we apply it to a concrete case: a generalized inverted harmonic oscillator. Although a pseudo-inner product can be introduced to make resonance states formally normalizable, this procedure relies on a non-unitary metric operator and defines a modified Hilbert space; it does not restore normalizability nor self-adjointness in the standard L2(R)L^2(R)L2(R) framework.
Attempts to understand the quantum mechanics of non-Hermitian Hamiltonian systems can be traced back to the early days, one example being Heisenberg's endeavour to formulate a consistent model involving an indefinite metric. Over the years non-Hermitian Hamiltonians whose spectra were believed to be real have appeared from time to time in the literature, for instance in the study of strong interactions at high energies via Regge models, in condensed matter physics in the context of the XXZ-spin chain, in interacting boson models in nuclear physics, in integrable quantum field theories as Toda field theories with complex coupling constants, and also very recently in a field theoretical scenario in the quantization procedure of strings on an AdS 5 x S 5 background. Concrete experimental realizations of these types of systems in the form of optical lattices have been proposed in 2007. In the area of mathematical physics similar non-systematic results appeared sporadically over the years. However, intensive and more systematic investigation of these types of non- Hermitian Hamiltonians with real eigenvalue spectra only began about ten years ago, when the surprising discovery was made that a large class of one-particle systems perturbed by a simple non-Hermitian potential term possesses a real energy spectrum. Since then regular international workshops devoted to this theme have taken place. This special issue is centred around the 6th International Workshop on Pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonians in Quantum Physics held in July 2007 at City University London. All the contributions contain significant new results or alternatively provide a survey of the state of the art of the subject or a critical assessment of the present understanding of the topic and a discussion of open problems. Original contributions from non-participants were also invited. Meanwhile many interesting results have been obtained and consensus has been reached on various central conceptual issues in the growing community of this subject. It is, for instance, well understood that the reality of the spectrum can be attributed either to the unbroken PT-symmetry of the entire system, that is, invariance of the Hamiltonian and the corresponding wavefunctions under a simultaneous parity transformation and time reversal, or more generally to its pseudo-Hermiticity . When the spectrum is real and discrete the Hamiltonian is actually quasi-Hermitian, with a positive-definite metric operator, and can in principle be related by a similarity transformation to an isospectral Hermitian counterpart. For all approaches well-defined procedures have been developed, which allow one to construct metric operators and therefore a consistent description of the underlying quantum mechanical observables. Even though the general principles have been laid out, it remains a challenge in most concrete cases to implement the entire procedure. Solvable models in this sense, some of which may be found in this issue, remain a rare exception. Nonetheless, despite this progress some important questions are still unanswered. For instance, according to the current understanding the non-Hermitian Hamiltonian does not uniquely define the physics of the system since a meaningful metric can no longer be associated with the system in a non-trivial and unambiguous manner. A fully consistent scattering theory has also not yet been formulated. Other issues remain controversial, such as the quantum brachistochrone problem, the problem of forming a mixture between a Hermitian and non-Hermitian system, the new phenomenological possibilities of forming a kind of worm-hole effect, etc. We would like to acknowledge the financial support of the London Mathematical Society, the Institute of Physics, the Doppler Institute in Prague and the School of Engineering and Mathematical Science of City University London. We hope this special issue will be useful to the newcomer as well as to the expert in the subject. Participants of the 6th International Workshop on Pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonians in Quantum Physics.