Time delay for dispersive systems in quantum scattering theory
Rafael Tiedra de Aldecoa
Abstract
We consider time delay and symmetrised time delay (defined in terms of sojourn times) for quantum scattering pairs {H0 = h(P), H}, where h(P) a dispersive operator of hypoelliptic-type. For instance h(P) can be one of the usual elliptic operators such as the Schrödinger operator h(P) = P 2 or the square-root Klein-Gordon operator h(P) = √ 1 + P 2. We show under general conditions that the symmetrised time delay exists for all smooth even localization functions. It is equal to the Eisenbud-Wigner time delay plus a contribution due to the non-radial component of the localization function. If the scattering operator S commutes with some function of the velocity operator ∇h(P), then the time delay also exists and is equal to the symmetrised time delay. As an illustration of our results we consider the case of a one-dimensionnal Friedrichs Hamiltonian perturbed by a finite rank potential. Our study put into evidence an integral formula relating the operator of differentiation with respect to the kinetic energy h(P) to the time evolution of localization operators. 1 Introduction and main results One can find a large literature on the identity of Eisenbud-Wigner time delay and time delay in quantum scattering defined in terms of sojourn times (see [3, 7, 8, 12, 19, 23,