The PT-symmetric (PTS) quantum brachistochrone problem is reanalyzed as quantum system consisting of a non-Hermitian PTS component and a purely Hermitian component simultaneously. Interpreting this specific setup as subsystem of a larger Hermitian system, we find non-unitary operator equivalence classes (conjugacy classes) as natural ingredient which contain at least one Dirac-Hermitian representative. With the help of a geometric analysis the compatibility of the vanishing passage time solution of a PTS brachistochrone with the Anandan-Aharonov lower bound for passage times of Hermitian brachistochrones is demonstrated.
We show that a quantum system possessing an exact antilinear symmetry, in particular PT -symmetry, is equivalent to a quantum system having a Hermitian Hamiltonian. We construct the unitary operator relating an arbitrary non-Hermitian Hamiltonian with exact PT -symmetry to a Hermitian Hamiltonian. We apply our general results to PT -symmetry in finite dimensions and give the explicit form of the above-mentioned unitary operator and Hermitian Hamiltonian in two dimensions. Our findings lead to the conjecture that non-Hermitian CPT -symmetric field theories are equivalent to certain nonlocal Hermitian field theories.
Recent work in mathematical physics and nonlinear optics has shown that Hamiltonians that are non-Hermitian but still symmetric under parity and time reversal can describe eigenstates of a system with real eigenvalues. Other research has also showed that the nonlinear Schrodinger equation can be generalized to describe PT-symmetric systems, which generates novel solutions not described by its Hermitian equivalent. The Hermitian form of the nonlinear Schroedinger equation can also be extended to describe a particular case of the general PT-symmetric NLS, suggesting a connection between the two. I attempted to generate a unitary operator that will be useful for unitary quantum algorithms describing a coupled set of nonlinear Schroedinger equations and the PT-symmetric version of the NLS.