We introduce, for the first time, bicoherent-state path integration as a method for quantizing non-hermitian systems. Bicoherent-state path integrals arise as a natural generalization of ordinary coherent-state path integrals, familiar from hermitian quantum physics. We do all this by working out a concrete example, namely, computation of the propagator of a certain quasi-hermitian variant of Swanson's model, which is not invariant under conventional $PT$-transformation. The resulting propagator coincides with that of the propagator of the standard harmonic oscillator, which is isospectral with the model under consideration by virtue of a similarity transformation relating the corresponding hamiltonians. We also compute the propagator of this model in position space by means of Feynman path integration and verify the consistency of the two results.
We generalize the Milne quantization condition to non-Hermitian systems. In the general case the underlying nonlinear Ermakov-Milne-Pinney equation needs to be replaced by a nonlinear integral differential equation. However, when the system is PT-symmetric or/and quasi/pseudo-Hermitian the equations simplify and one may employ the original energy integral to determine its quantization. We illustrate the working of the general framework with the Swanson model and two explicit examples for pairs of supersymmetric Hamiltonians. In one case both partner Hamiltonians are Hermitian and in the other …
We extend to a non-Hermitian fermionic quantum field theory with PT symmetry our previous discussion of second quantization, discrete symmetry transformations, and inner products in a scalar field theory [arXiv:2006.06656]. For illustration, we consider a prototype model containing a single Dirac fermion with a parity-odd, anti-Hermitian mass term. In the phase of unbroken PT symmetry, this Dirac fermion model is equivalent to a Hermitian theory under a similarity transformation, with the non-Hermitian nature of the model residing only in the spinor structure, whereas the algebra of the creati…
Motivated by deformation quantization, we consider in this paper $^*$-algebras $\mathcal A$ over rings $\ring C = \ring{R}(i)$, where $\ring R$ is an ordered ring and $i^2 = -1$, and study the deformation theory of projective modules over these algebras carrying the additional structure of a (positive) $\mathcal A$-valued inner product. For $A=C^\infty(M)$, M a manifold, these modules can be identified with Hermitian vector bundles E over M. We show that for a fixed Hermitian star-product on M, these modules can always be deformed in a unique way, up to (isometric) equivalence. We observe that…
Let $(E,h)$ be a holomorphic Hermitian vector bundle over a polarized manifold. We provide a canonical quantization of the Laplacian operator acting on sections of the bundle of Hermitian endomorphisms of $E$. If $E$ is simple we obtain an approximation of the eigenvalues and eigenspaces of the Laplacian.
This is a response to a recently reported comment [1] on paper [J. Math. Phys.59, 082105 (2018)] regarding the quantization of damped harmonic oscillator using a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian with real energy eigenvalues. We assert here that the calculation of Eq. (29) of [2] is incorrect, and thus the subsequent steps via the Nikiforov-Uvarov method are affected, and the energy eigenvalues should have been complex. However, we show here that the Hermiticity of the Hamiltonian should be firstly achieved to make the correct transition from classical Hamiltonian to quantum counterpart, and this can …
We construct a previously unknown $E_2$-quasi-exactly solvable non-Hermitian model whose eigenfunctions involve weakly orthogonal polynomials obeying three-term recurrence relations that factorize beyond the quantization level. The model becomes Hermitian when one of its two parameters is fixed to a specific value. We analyze the double scaling limit of this model leading to the complex Mathieu equation. The norms, Stieltjes measures and moment functionals are evaluated for some concrete values of one of the two parameters.
A background-independent quantization of the Universe near its Big Bang singularity is considered using a drastically simplified toy model. Several conceptual issues are addressed. (1) The observable spatial-geometry characteristics of our empty-space expanding Universe is sampled by the time-dependent operator $Q=Q(t)$ of the distance between two space-attached observers (``Alice and Bob''). (2) For any pre-selected guess of the simple, non-covariant time-dependent observable $Q(t)$ one of the Kato's exceptional points (viz., $t=τ_{(EP)}$) is postulated {\em real-valued}. This enables us to t…
Robertson and Hadamard-Robertson theorems on non-negative definite hermitian forms are generalized to an arbitrary ordered field. These results are then applied to the case of formal power series fields, and the Heisenberg-Robertson, Robertson-Schrödinger and trace uncertainty relations in deformation quantization are found. Some conditions under which the uncertainty relations are minimized are also given.
Nonrelativistic quantum mechanics and conformal quantum mechanics are deformed through a Jordanian twist. The deformed space coordinates satisfy the Snyder noncommutativity. The resulting deformed Hamiltonians are pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonians of the type discussed by Mostafazadeh. The quantization scheme makes use of the so-called "unfolded formalism" discussed in previous works. A Hopf algebra structure, compatible with the physical interpretation of the coproduct, is introduced for the Universal Enveloping Algebra of a suitably chosen dynamical Lie algebra (the Hamiltonian is contained amon…
We explore the Jacobi Last Multiplier as a means for deriving the Lagrangian of a fourth-order differential equation. In particular we consider the classical problem of the Pais-Uhlenbeck oscillator and write down the accompanying Hamiltonian. We then compare such an expression with an alternative derivation of the Hamiltonian that makes use of the Ostrogradski's method and show that a mapping from the one to the other is achievable by variable transformations. Assuming canonical quantization procedure to be valid we go for the operator version of the Hamiltonian that represents a pair of unco…
For a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian H possessing a real spectrum, we introduce a canonical orthonormal basis in which a previously introduced unitary mapping of H to a Hermitian Hamiltonian h takes a simple form. We use this basis to construct the observables O of the quantum mechanics based on H. In particular, we introduce pseudo-Hermitian position and momentum operators and a pseudo-Hermitian quantization scheme that relates the latter to the ordinary classical position and momentum observables. These allow us to address the problem of determining the conserved probability density and the under…
We propose the notion of $E_{2}$-quasi-exact solvability and apply this idea to find explicit solutions to the eigenvalue problem for a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian system depending on two parameters. The model considered reduces to the complex Mathieu Hamiltonian in a double scaling limit, which enables us to compute the exceptional points in the energy spectrum of the latter as a limiting process of the zeros for some algebraic equations. The coefficient functions in the quasi-exact eigenfunctions are univariate polynomials in the energy obeying a three-term recurrence relation. The latter prop…
We perform a perturbative calculation of the physical observables, in particular pseudo-Hermitian position and momentum operators, the equivalent Hermitian Hamiltonian operator, and the classical Hamiltonian for the PT-symmetric cubic anharmonic oscillator, $ H=p^1/(2m)+μ^2x^2/2+iεx^3 $. Ignoring terms of order $ ε^4 $ and higher, we show that this system describes an ordinary quartic anharmonic oscillator with a position-dependent mass and real and positive coupling constants. This observation elucidates the classical origin of the reality and positivity of the energy spectrum. We also discus…
In this talk I discuss a recently developed "Unfolded Quantization Framework". It allows to introduce a Hamiltonian Second Quantization based on a Hopf algebra endowed with a coproduct satisfying, for the Hamiltonian, the physical requirement of being a primitive element. The scheme can be applied to theories deformed via a Drinfeld twist. I discuss in particular two cases: the abelian twist deformation of a rotationally invariant nonrelativistic Quantum Mechanics (the twist induces a standard noncommutativity) and the Jordanian twist of the harmonic oscillator. In the latter case the twist in…
In this work, a classical-quantum correspondence for two-level pseudo-Hermitian systems is proposed and analyzed. We show that the presence of a complex external field can be described by a pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonian if there is a suitable canonical transformation that links it to a real field. We construct a covariant quantization scheme which maps canonically related pseudoclassical theories to unitarily equivalent quantum realizations, such that there is a unique metric-inducing isometry between the distinct Hilbert spaces. In this setting, the pseudo-Hermiticity condition for the operato…
The quantization of systems with a position dependent mass (PDM) is studied. We present a method that starts with the study of the existence of Killing vector fields for the PDM geodesic motion (Lagrangian with a PDM kinetic term but without any potential) and the construction of the associated Noether momenta. Then the method considers, as the appropriate Hilbert space, the space of functions that are square integrable with respect to a measure related with the PDM and, after that, it establishes the quantization, not of the canonical momenta $p$, but of the Noether momenta $P$ instead. The q…
We discuss the Hamiltonian H = p^2/2 - (ix)^{2n+1} and the mixed Hamiltonian H = (p^2 + x^2)/2 - g(ix)^{2n+1}, which are crypto-Hermitian in a sense that, in spite of apparent complexity of the potential, a quantum spectral problem can be formulated such that the spectrum is real. We note first that the corresponding classical Hamiltonian system can be treated as a gauge system, with imaginary part of the Hamiltonian playing the role of the first class constraint. We observe then that, on the basis of this classical problem, several different nontrivial quantum problems can be formulated. We f…
A diagonalizable non-Hermitian Hamiltonian having a real spectrum may be used to define a unitary quantum system, if one modifies the inner product of the Hilbert space properly. We give a comprehensive and essentially self-contained review of the basic ideas and techniques responsible for the recent developments in this subject. We provide a critical assessment of the role of the geometry of the Hilbert space in conventional quantum mechanics to reveal the basic physical principle motivating our study. We then offer a survey of the necessary mathematical tools and elaborate on a number of rel…
Starting from a many-body classical system governed by a trace-form entropy we derive, in the stochastic quantization picture, a family of non linear and non-Hermitian Schroedinger equations describing, in the mean filed approximation, a quantum system of interacting particles. The time evolution of the main physical observables is analyzed by means of the Ehrenfest equations showing that, in general, this family of equations takes into account dissipative and damped effects due to the interaction of the system with the background. We explore the presence of steady states by means of solitons,…
In this paper, we show that the Laughlin wave function is a Hamiltonian and its associated Berry connection as the Schrödinger equation by transforming the Schrödinger equation into the Kirchhoff equation which describes the evolution of $n$ point vortices in Hydrodynamics. This helps us to view the Berry connection associated with Laughlin wave function or Schrödinger equation is not Hermitian, therefore we propose a self adjoint model Hamiltonian for the fractional quantum Hall effect, from the study of Kirchhoff equation, using superymmetric quantum mechanics whose solutions are complex Her…
We offer a new Hamiltonian formulation of the classical Pais-Uhlenbeck Oscillator and consider its canonical quantization. We show that for the non-degenerate case where the frequencies differ, the quantum Hamiltonian operator is a Hermitian operator with a positive spectrum, i.e., the quantum system is both stable and unitary. A consistent description of the degenerate case based on a Hamiltonian that is quadratic in momenta requires its analytic continuation into a complex Hamiltonian system possessing a generalized PT-symmetry (an involutive antilinear symmetry). We devise a real descriptio…
In the previous paper arXiv:2003.06470 we introduced the notion of ${\mathbb Z}_2\times{\mathbb Z}_2$-graded classical mechanics and presented a general framework to construct, in the Lagrangian setting, the worldline sigma models invariant under a ${\mathbb Z}_2\times{\mathbb Z}_2$-graded superalgebra. In this work we discuss at first the classical Hamiltonian formulation of some of these models and later present their canonical quantization. As the simplest application of the construction we recover the ${\mathbb Z}_2\times{\mathbb Z}_2$-graded quantum Hamiltonian introduced by Bruce and Dup…
By analyzing the Lyapunov exponent (LE), we develop a rigorous, fundamental scheme for the study of general non-Hermitian quasicrystals with both complex phase factor and non-reciprocal hopping. Specially, the localization-delocalization transition point, $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetry-breaking point and the winding number transition points are determined by LEs of its dual Hermitian model. The analysis was based on Avila's global theory, and we found that winding number is directly related to the acceleration, the slope of the LE, while quantization of acceleration is the crucial ingredient of Avila…
Let $(M,J,ω)$ be a quantizable compact Kähler manifold, with quantizing Hermitian line bundle $(A,h)$, and associated Hardy space $H(X)$, where $X$ is the unit circle bundle. Given a collection of $r$ Poisson commuting quantizable Hamiltonian functions $f_j$ on $M$, there is an induced Abelian unitary action on $H(X)$, generated by certain Töplitz operators naturally induced by the $f_j$'s. As a multi-dimensional analogue of the usual Weyl law and trace formula, we consider the problem of describing the asymptotic clustering of the joint eigenvalues of these Töplitz operators along a given ray…
The symmetry studies of Maxwell equations gave new insight on the nature of electromagnetic (EM) field. Tey are reviewed in the work presented. It is drawing the attention on the following aspects. EM-field has in general case quaternion structure, consisting of four independent field constituents, which differ from each other by the parities under space inversion and time reversal. There exists physical conserving quantity, which is simultaneously invariant under both Rainich dual and additional hyperbolic dual symmetry transformation of Maxwell equations. It is spin in general case or spiral…
