Non-Hermitian Hamiltonians and Similarity Transformations

Francisco Marcelo Fernández

Y. Ben-Aryeh

Hongbiao Zhang, Guang-Yuan Jiang, Gangcheng Wang

We suggest a generic algebraic method to solve non-Hermitian Hamiltonian systems with Lie algebraic linear structure. Such method can not only unify the non-Hermitian Hamiltonian and the Hermitian Hamiltonian with the same structure but also keep self-consistent between similarity transformation and unitary transformation. To clearly reveal the correctness and physical meaning of such algebraic method, we illustrate our method with two different types of non-Hermitian Hamiltonians: the non-Hermitian Hamiltonian with Heisenberg algebraic linear structure and the non-Hermitian Hamiltonian with su(1, 1) algebraic linear structure. We obtain energy eigenvalues and the corresponding eigenstates of non-Hermitian forced harmonic oscillator with Heisenberg algebra structure via a proper similarity transformation. We also calculate the eigen-problems of general non-Hermitian Hamiltonian with su(1, 1) structure in terms of the similarity transformation. As an application, we focus on studying the non-Hermitian single-mode squeezed and coherent harmonic oscillator system and find that such similarity transformation associated with this model is in fact gauge-like transformation for simple harmonic oscillator.

Nimrod Moiseyev

Tetsuo Deguchi, Pijush K. Ghosh

We show that a Dicke-type non-Hermitian Hamiltonian admits entirely real spectra by mapping it to the "dressed Dicke model" through a similarity transformation. We find a positive-definite metric in the Hilbert space of the non-Hermitian Hamiltonian so that the time evolution is unitary and allows a consistent quantum description. We then show that this non-Hermitian Hamiltonian describing nondissipative quantum processes undergoes quantum phase transition. The exactly solvable limit of the non-Hermitian Hamiltonian has also been discussed.

Mustapha Maamache

We introduce the Dirac Inverted Oscillator, a new exactly solvable relativistic quantum system obtained through a Hermitian modification of the generalized momentum operator in the Dirac equation. In contrast to the conventional Dirac oscillator, where the generalized momentum is intrinsically non-Hermitian while the Hamiltonian remains Hermitian, the present construction reverses these Hermiticity properties: the generalized momentum becomes Hermitian, whereas the corresponding Dirac Hamiltonian is intrinsically non-Hermitian. This inversion leads to a new class of relativistic Hamiltonians within the framework of non-Hermitian quantum mechanics. Starting from the stationary Dirac equation, we derive the corresponding second-order wave equation and establish the generalized symmetry properties of the model, including pseudo-Hermiticity and pseudo- symmetry. We then prove that the Dirac Inverted Oscillator is exactly related to the conventional Dirac oscillator through a Hermitian but non-unitary similarity transformation generated by a dilation operator. This transformation is bijective and invertible, mapping the original non-Hermitian relativistic problem onto an equivalent Hermitian Schrodinger eigenvalue problem while preserving its complete spectral structure. The transformed Hermitian problem is solved analytically, allowing the exact relativistic spectrum and the corresponding eigenfunctions of the original non-Hermitian Hamiltonian to be determined explicitly. The present work therefore establishes an exact correspondence between a non-Hermitian relativistic Dirac system and a Hermitian Schrodinger problem, providing a new exactly solvable model and illustrating the effectiveness of Hermitian non-unitary similarity transformations for constructing analytically solvable relativistic Hamiltonians beyond the conventional Hermitian framework.