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Journal of Physics Conference Series

Mathematical Foundations of Time Asymmetric Quantum Mechanics

Manuel Gadella

Published May 26, 2017• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We review the mathematical tools that are suitable for a formulation of time asymmetry in quantum mechanics. In particular, Hardy functions on a half plane and rigged Hilbert spaces constructed with a subclass of Hardy functions. This time asymmetry often appears in quantum scattering and, in particular, in resonance scattering. We review the construction of Gamow vectors, often considered Gamow states for resonances. A brief summary of the fundamental ideas of time asymmetric quantum mechanics is presented in a last section.

DOI
10.1088/1742-6596/839/1/012001

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We review the mathematical tools that are suitable for a formulation of time asymmetry in quantum mechanics. In particular, Hardy functions on a half plane and rigged Hilbert spaces constructed with a subclass of Hardy functions. This time asymmetry often appears in quantum scattering and, in particular, in resonance scattering. We review the construction of Gamow vectors, often considered Gamow states for resonances. A brief summary of the fundamental ideas of time asymmetric quantum mechanics is presented in a last section.
The meaning of time asymmetry in quantum physics is discussed.On the basis of a mathematical theorem, the Stone-von Neumann theorem, the solutions of the dynamical equations, the Schrödinger equation (1) for states or the Heisenberg equation (6a) for observables are given by a unitary group.Dirac kets require the concept of a RHS (rigged Hilbert space) of Schwartz functions; for this kind of RHS a mathematical theorem also leads to time symmetric group evolution.Scattering theory suggests to distinguish mathematically between states (defined by a preparation apparatus) and observables (defined by a registration apparatus (detector)).If one requires that scattering resonances of width Γ and exponentially decaying states of lifetime τ = Γ should be the same physical entities (for which there is sufficient evidence) one is led to a pair of RHS's of Hardy functions and connected with it, to a semigroup time evolution t 0 ≤ t < ∞, with the puzzling result that there is a quantum mechanical beginning of time, just like the big bang time for the universe, when it was a quantum system.The decay of quasi-stable particles is used to illustrate this quantum mechanical time asymmetry.From the analysis of these processes, we show that the properties of rigged Hilbert spaces of Hardy functions are suitable for a formulation of time asymmetry in quantum mechanics.
The Rigged Hilbert Space (RHS) theory of resonance scattering and decay is reviewed and contrasted with the standard Hilbert space (HS) theory of quantum mechanics. The main difference is in the choice of boundary conditions. Whereas the conventional theory allows for the in-states ϕ+ϕ^+ϕ+ and the out-states (observables) ψ−ψ^-ψ− of the S-matrix elements (ψ−,ϕ+)=(ψout,Sϕin)(ψ^-,ϕ^+)=(ψ^{out},S ϕ^{in})(ψ−,ϕ+)=(ψout,Sϕin) any elements of the HS $\H$, {ψ−}={ϕ+}(=)˝\{ψ^-\}=\{ϕ^+\}(=\H){ψ−}={ϕ+}(=)˝​, the RHS theory chooses the boundary conditions~: ϕ+∈Φ−⊂⊂˝Φ−×ϕ^+\inΦ_-\subset\H\subsetΦ_-^\timesϕ+∈Φ−​⊂⊂˝​Φ−×​, ψ−∈Φ+⊂⊂˝Φ+×ψ^-\inΦ_+\subset \H\subset Φ_+^\timesψ−∈Φ+​⊂⊂˝​Φ+×​, where Φ−Φ_-Φ−​ (Φ+Φ_+Φ+​) are Hardy class spaces associated to the lower (upper) half-plane of the second sheet of the analytically continued S-matrix. This can be phenomenologically justified by causality. The two RHS's for states ϕ+ϕ^+ϕ+ and observables ψ−ψ^-ψ− provide new vectors which are not in $\H$, e.g. the Dirac-Lippmann-Schwinger kets ∣E±∈Φ∓×|E^{\pm}\inΦ_{\mp}^{\times}∣E±∈Φ∓×​ (solutions of the Lippmann-Schwinger equation with ±iε\pm iε±iε respectively) and the Gamow vectors ∣ER−iΓ/2±∈Φ∓×|E_R-iΓ/2^\pm\inΦ_{\mp}^\times∣ER​−iΓ/2±∈Φ∓×​. The Gamow vectors ∣ER−iΓ/2−|E_R-iΓ/2^-∣ER​−iΓ/2− have all the properties that one heuristically needs for quasistable states. In addition, they give rise to asymmetric time evolution expressing irreversibility on the microphysical level.
A quantum theory that applies to the (closed) universe needs to be time asymmetric because of the cosmological arrow of time. The preparation $\ensuremath{\Rightarrow}$ registration arrow of time (a state must be prepared before an observable can be detected in it) of the quantum mechanics of measured systems provides a phenomenological reason for an asymmetric semigroup time evolution. The standard theory in the Hilbert space (HS) is inadequate for either since the mathematics of the HS allows only reversible unitary group evolution and time symmetric boundary conditions. The mathematical theory that describes time-asymmetric quantum physics in addition to providing the mathematics for the Dirac kets is the rigged Hilbert space (RHS) theory. It uses a pair of RHS's of Hardy class with complementary analyticity property, one for the prepared states (``in states'') and the other for the registered observables (``out states''). The RHS's contain Gamow kets which have all the properties needed to represent decaying states and resonances. Gamow kets have only asymmetric time evolution. The neutral kaon system is used to show that quasistationary microphysical systems can be experimentally isolated if their time of preparation can be accurately identified. The theoretical predictions for a Gamow ket have the same features as the observed decay probabilities, including the time ordering. This time ordering is the same as the time ordering in the probabilities of histories for the quantum universe. The fundamental quantum mechanical arrow of time represented by the semigroup in the RHS is therefore the same as the cosmological arrow of time, assuming that the universe can be considered a closed quantum system.
Traditional Quantum Scattering theory is built upon a Hilbert space formalism. The nature of the Hilbert space has led to a number of ideas about the nature of scattering systems, chief among them being the understanding that the decay of unstable quan- tum systems cannot be purely exponential and that there can only be an approximate relationship between the width Γ of a scattering resonance and the lifetime τ of the resonant state whose formation gives rise to it. That such physical conclusions are de- rived from purely mathematical properties of the underlying topological vector space inform the notion that, in choosing a particular space, one is choosing the mathemat- ical representation of the physical universe for the system. With this notion in mind, purely physical characteristics of quantum systems are used to answer the question: “What is the proper mathematical space for quantum mechanical calculations?” In the particular case of quantum scattering, it is shown that this approach casts the choice of the Hilbert space into doubt and motivates instead the use of rigged Hilbert spaces employing Hardy spaces; in these Hardy rigged Hilbert spaces, exponential decay is permissible and the time evolution of decaying states is governed by semigroups. The original theories concerning deviation from exponential decay in the Hilbert space are revisited to reveal how their conclusions flow from a mathematical property whose physical interpretation is problematic. Finally, an application of a Hardy rigged Hilbert space formalism is presented: Time Asymmetric Quantum Mechanics, as developed by A. Bohm, M. Gadella, and S. Wickramasekara.
After a summary of the Rigged Hilbert space formulation of quantum mechanics and a brief statement of its advantages over von Neumann’s formulation, a mathematically correct definition of Gamow’s exponentially decaying vectors as generalized energy eigenvectors is suggested. It is shown that exponentially decaying vectors are obtained from the S-matrix poles in the lower half of the second sheet and exponentially growing vectors from the S-matrix poles in the upper half of the second sheet. Decaying ’’state’’ vectors are defined as functionals over half of the space of physical states and growing ’’state’’ vectors are defined as functionals over the other half. On functionals over these subspaces, the dynamical group of time development splits into two semigroups, one for t ≳ 0 and the other for t < 0. The generalized basis system connected with the spectrum of the Hamiltonian is transformed into a new basis system in which the exponentially decaying component of the density matrix is separated.