We present a coherent and consistent framework for explicit time-dependence in non-Hermitian quantum mechanics. The area of non-Hermitian quantum mechanics has been growing rapidly over the past twenty years. This has been driven by the fact that $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric non-Hermitian systems exhibit real energy eigenvalues and unitary time evolution. Historically, the introduction of time into the world of non-Hermitian quantum mechanics has been a conceptually difficult problem to address, as it requires the Hamiltonian to become unobservable. We solve this issue with the introduction of a new observable energy operator and explain why its instigation is a necessary and natural progression in this setting. For the first time, the introduction of time has allowed us to make sense of the parameter regime in which the $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetry is spontaneously broken. Ordinarily, in the time-independent setting, the energy eigenvalues become complex and the wave functions are asymptotically unbounded. We demonstrate that in the time-dependent setting this broken symmetry can be mended and analysis on the spontaneously broken $\mathcal{PT}$ regime is indeed possible. We provide many examples of this mending on a wide range of different systems, beginning with a $2\times2$ matrix model and extending to higher dimensional matrix models and coupled harmonic oscillator systems with infinite Hilbert space. Furthermore, we use the framework to perform analysis on time-dependent quasi-exactly solvable models. We present the "eternal life" of entropy in this thesis. Ordinarily, for entangled quantum systems coupled to the environments, the entropy decays rapidly to zero. However, in the spontaneously broken regime, we find the entropy decays asymptotically to a non-zero value. We create an elegant framework for Darboux and Darboux/Crum transformations for time-dependent non-Hermitian Hamiltonians.
In his recent paper arXiv:1312.7738, the author discussed $J$-Hermitian quantum mechanics and showed that $PT$-symmetric quantum mechanics is essentially $J$-Hermitian quantum mechanics. In this paper, the author discusses finite $J$-Hermitian quantum mechanics which is derived naturally from its continuum one and its relationship with finite $PT$-symmetric quantum mechanics.
In arXiv:0709.0483 Gunther and Samsonov outline a ``generalization'' of quantum mechanics that involves simultaneous consideration of Hermitian and non-Hermitian operators and promises to be ``capable to produce effects beyond those of standard Hermitian quantum mechanics.'' We give a simple physical interpretation of Hermiticity and discuss in detail the shortcomings of the above-mentioned composite quantum theory. In particular, we show that the corresponding ``generalization of measurement theory'' suffers from a dynamical inconsistency and that it is by no means adequate to replace the sta…
In this work we intend to study a class of time-dependent quantum systems with non-Hermitian Hamiltonians, particularly those whose Hermitian counterpart are important for the comprehension of posed problems in quantum optics and quantum chemistry, which consists of an oscillator with time-dependent mass and frequency under the action of a time-dependent imaginary potential. The propagator for a general time-dependence of the parameters and the wave-functions are obtained explicitly for constant frequency and mass and a linear time-dependence in the potential. The wave-functions are used to ob…
This work discusses Hermitian and non-Hermitian formulations for the time evolution of quantum decay, that involve respectively, continuum wave functions and resonant states, to show that they lead to an identical description for a large class of well behaved potentials. Our approach is based on the analytical properties of the outgoing Green's function to the problem in the complex wave number plane.
The well-known geometric phase present in the quantum adiabatic evolution discovered by Berry many years ago has its analogue, the Hannay phase, in the classical domain.We calculate the Berry phase with examples for quantum hermitian and non-hermitian $PT$-symmetric Hamiltonians and compare with the Hannay phase in their classical equivalents.We use the analogy to propose resonant electric circuits which reproduce the theoretical solutions in simulated laboratory experiments.
The non-Hermitian Schrödinger equation is re-expressed generally in the form of Hamilton's canonical equation without any approximation. Its quantization called non-Hermitian quantum field theory is discussed. By virtue of the canonical equation, the theory of non-Hermitian quantum mechanics is totally reformulated, including the probability amplitudes of states, the expectations of operators, as well as the expressions of interaction terms. The conventional difficulties in non-Hermitian quantum mechanics are totally overcome by the reformulation. Specifically, the imaginary parts the non-Herm…
We study the quantum entanglement and separability of Hermitian and pseudo-Hermitian systems of identical bosonic or fermionic particles with point interactions. The separability conditions are investigated in detail.
In this letter, we investigate the effects of non-Hermitian driving on quantum coherence in a bipartite system. The results that the dynamical localization destroyed by the Hermitian interaction revives are an evidence of the restoration of quantum coherence by non-Hermitian driving. Besides, the entanglement between the two subsystems also decays with the boosting of non-hermitian driving strength, which provides another evidence that non-Hermitian driving will protect quantum coherence. The physics behind this phenomenon is the domination of the quasieigenstate with maximum imaginary value o…
In principle, non-Hermitian quantum equations of motion can be formulated using as a starting point either the Heisenberg's or the Schrödinger's picture of quantum dynamics. Here it is shown in both cases how to map the algebra of commutators, defining the time evolution in terms of a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian, onto a non-Hamiltonian algebra with a Hermitian Hamiltonian. The logic behind such a derivation is reversible, so that any Hermitian Hamiltonian can be used in the formulation of non-Hermitian dynamics through a suitable algebra of generalized (non-Hamiltonian) commutators. These result…
The formalism for non-Hermitian quantum systems sometimes blurs the underlying physics. We present a systematic study of the vielbein-like formalism which transforms the Hilbert space bundles of non-Hermitian systems into the conventional ones, rendering the induced Hamiltonian to be Hermitian. In other words, any non-Hermitian Hamiltonian can be "transformed" into a Hermitian one without altering the physics. Thus we show how to find a reference frame (corresponding to Einstein's quantum elevator) in which a non-Hermitian system, equipped with a non-trivial Hilbert space metric, reduces to a …
In recent years, non-Hermitian quantum physics has gained a lot in popularity in the quantum optics and condensed matter communities in order to model quantum systems with varying symmetries. In this paper, we identify a non-standard inner product that implies bosonic commutator relations for local electric and magnetic field observables and leads to a natural local biorthogonal description of the quantised electromagnetic field. When comparing this description with an alternative local Hermitian description, in which the states of local photonic particles - i.e. of so-called bosons localised …
We investigated the quantum speed limit time of a qubit system with non-Hermitian detuning. Our results show that, with respect to two distinguishable states of the non-Hermitian system, the evolutionary time does not have a nonzero lower bound. And the quantum evolution of the system can be effectively accelerated by adjusting the non-Hermitian detuning parameter, as well as the quantum speed limit time can be arbitrarily small even be zero.
We study the time evolution of quantum systems with a time-dependent non-Hermitian Hamiltonian given by a linear combination of SU(1,1) and SU(2) generators.With a time-dependent metric, the pseudo-Hermitian invariant operator is constructed in the same manner as for both the SU(1,1) and SU(2) systems. The exact common solutions of the Schrödinger equations for both the SU(1,1) and SU(2) systems are obtained in terms of eigenstates of the pseudo-Hermitian invariant operator.
We propose a novel non-Hermitian adiabatic quantum optimization algorithm. One of the new ideas is to use a non-Hermitian auxiliary "initial'' Hamiltonian that provides an effective level repulsion for the main Hamiltonian. This effect enables us to develop an adiabatic theory which determines ground state much more efficiently than Hermitian methods.
The pure state space of Quantum Mechanics is investigated as Hermitian Symmetric Kaehler manifold. The classical principles of Quantum Mechanics (Quantum Superposition Principle, Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, Quantum Probability Principle) and Spectral Theory of observables are discussed in this non linear geometrical context.
PT-/non-PT-symmetric and non-Hermitian deformed Morse and Poschl-Teller potentials are studied first time by quantum Hamilton-Jacobi approach. Energy eigenvalues and eigenfunctions are obtained by solving quantum Hamilton-Jacobi equation.
We study non-Hermitian quantum mechanics in the presence of a minimal length. In particular we obtain exact solutions of a non-Hermitian displaced harmonic oscillator and the Swanson model with minimal length uncertainty. The spectrum in both the cases are found to be real. It is also shown that the models are $η$ pseudo-Hermitian and the metric operator is found explicitly in both the cases.
Quantum signal processing allows for quantum eigenvalue transformation with Hermitian matrices, in which each eigenspace component of an input vector gets transformed according to its eigenvalue. In this work, we introduce the multivariate quantum eigenvalue transformation for functions of commuting Hermitian matrices. We then present a framework for working with polynomial matrix functions in which we may solve MQET, and give the application of computing functions of normal matrices using a quantum computer.
The breakdown of Ehrenfest's theorem imposes serious limitations on quaternionic quantum mechanics (QQM). In order to determine the conditions in which the theorem is valid, we examined the conservation of the probability density, the expectation value and the classical limit for a non-anti-hermitian formulation of QQM. The results also indicated that the non-anti-hermitian quaternionic theory is related to non-hermitian quantum mechanics, and thus the physical problems described with both of the theories should be related.
We provide a new perspective on non-Hermitian evolution in quantum mechanics by emphasizing the same method as in the Hermitian quantum evolution. We first give a precise description of the non unitary evolution, and collecting the basic results around it and postulating the norm preserving. This cautionary postulate imposing that the time evolution of a non Hermitian quantum system preserves the inner products between the associated states must not be read naively. We also give an example showing that the solutions of time-dependent non Hermitian Hamiltonian systems given by a linear combinat…
We use the Gazeau-Klauder formalism to construct coherent states of non-Hermitian quantum systems. In particular we use this formalism to construct coherent state of a PT symmetric system. We also discuss construction of coherent states following Klauder's minimal prescription.
Examples are given of non-Hermitian Hamiltonian operators which have a real spectrum. Some of the investigated operators are expressed in terms of the generators of the Weil-Heisenberg algebra. It is argued that the existence of an involutive operator $\hat J$ which renders the Hamiltonian $\hat J$-Hermitian leads to the unambiguous definition of an associated positive definite norm allowing for the standard probabilistic interpretation of quantum mechanics. Non-Hermitian extensions of the Poeschl-Teller Hamiltonian are also considered. Hermitian counterparts obtained by similarity transformat…
Quantum sensing exploits fundamental features of quantum system to achieve highly efficient measurement of physical quantities. Here, we propose a strategy to realize a single-qubit pseudo-Hermitian sensor from a dilated two-qubit Hermitian system. The pseudo-Hermitian sensor exhibits divergent susceptibility in dynamical evolution that does not necessarily involve exceptional point. We demonstrate its potential advantages to overcome noises that cannot be averaged out by repetitive measurements. The proposal is feasible with the state-of-art experimental capability in a variety of qubit syste…
We consider the description of open quantum systems with probability sinks (or sources) in terms of general non-Hermitian Hamiltonians.~Within such a framework, we study novel possible definitions of the quantum linear entropy as an indicator of the flow of information during the dynamics. Such linear entropy functionals are necessary in the case of a partially Wigner-transformed non-Hermitian Hamiltonian (which is typically useful within a mixed quantum-classical representation). Both the case of a system represented by a pure non-Hermitian Hamiltonian as well as that of the case of non-Hermi…
As a quantum device, a quantum heat engine (QHE) is described by a Hermitian Hamiltonian.However, since it is an open system, reservoirs have to be imposed phenomenologically without any description in the context of quantum mechanics. A non-Hermitian system is expected to describe an open system which exchanges energy and particles with external reservoirs. Correspondingly,such an exchange can be adiabatic in the context of quantum mechanics. We first propose a non-Hermitian QHE by a concrete simple two-level system, which is an S = 1/2 spin in a complex external magnetic field. The non-Hermi…
We discuss the short-time perturbative expansion of the linear entropy for finite-dimensional quantum systems whose dynamics can be effectively described by a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian. We derive a timescale for the degree of mixedness for an input state undergoing non-Hermitian dynamics and specialize these results in the case of a driven-dissipative two-level system. Next, we derive a timescale for the growth of mixedness for bipartite quantum systems that depends on the effective non-Hermitian Hamiltonian. In the Hermitian limit, this result recovers the perturbative expansion for coherence…
We discuss the basic theoretical framework for non-Hermitian quantum systems with particular emphasis on the diagonalizability of non-Hermitian Hamiltonians and their $GL(1,\mathbb{C})$ gauge freedom, which are relevant to the adiabatic evolution of non-Hermitian quantum systems. We find that the adiabatic evolution is possible only when the eigen-energies are real. The accompanying geometric phase is found to be generally complex and associated with not only the phase of a wavefunction but also its amplitude. The condition for the real geometric phase is laid out. Our results are illustrated …
We show that the consequences of an introduction of a manifest time-dependence in a pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonian H=H(t) are by far less drastic than suggested by A. Mostafazadeh in Phys. Lett. B 650 (2007) 208 (arXiv:0706.1872v2 [quant-ph]). In particular, the unitarity of the evolution does not necessitate the time-independence of the metric $η_+=η_+(t)$.
Understanding the interplay between quantum coherence and non-Hermitian features would enable the devising of quantum technologies based on dissipative systems. In turn, quantum coherence can be characterized in terms of the language of multiple quantum coherences (MQCs) originally developed in solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), nowadays applied to the detection of quantum chaos, and to the study of criticality in many-body quantum systems. Here we show the usefulness of MQCs for probing equilibrium phase transitions in non-Hermitian systems. To do so, we investigate the connection …
A condition to have a real spectrum for a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian is given. As special cases, it is shown that the condition is reduced to Hermiticity and PT symmetric conditions.
By using an exact analytical non-Hermitian formalism involving the full set of resonance (quasinormal) states and complex energy eigenvalues for quantum tunneling decay, we show that unitarity holds at any instant of time for the nonstationary decaying probability density in the whole space, thus providing a fundamental description of the quantum mechanical decay process.
A series of recent papers ``Faster than Hermitian Quantum Mechanics'' and related articles made a point of the possibility of a non-Hermitian, but PT-symmetric, operator to play the role of a Hamiltonian. In particular, they show that with an appropriate choice of an inner product, the evolution generated by such an operator will conserve the norm and scalar product. Here we observe that if one chooses such an inner product then the Hamiltonian in question is actually Hermitian, and the whole exercise is to a certain degree redundant.
The rationale for introducing non-hermitian Hamiltonians and other observables is reviewed and open issues identified. We present a new approach based on Moyal products to compute the metric for quasi-hermitian systems. This approach is not only an efficient method of computation, but also suggests a new perspective on quasi-hermitian quantum mechanics which invites further exploration. In particular, we present some first results which link the Berry connection and curvature to non-perturbative properties and the metric.
By studying quantum information masking in non-Hermitian quantum systems, we show that mutually orthogonal quantum states can be deterministically masked, while an arbitrary set of quantum states cannot be masked in non-Hermitian quantum systems. We further demonstrate that a set of linearly independent states which are mutually $η$-orthogonal can be deterministically masked by a pseudo-unitary operator. Moreover, we study robustness of quantum information masking against noisy environments. The robustness of deterministic and probabilistic quantum information masking under different quantum n…
We report on a time scaling technique to enhance the performances of quantum protocols in non-Hermitian systems. The considered time scaling involves no extra-couplings and yields a significant enhancement of the quantum fidelity for a comparable amount of resources. We discuss the application of this technique to quantum state transfers in 2 and 3-level open quantum systems. We derive the quantum speed limit in a system governed by a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian. Interestingly, we show that, with an appropriate driving, the time-scaling technique preserves the optimality of the quantum speed wit…
Recently, Bender et al. have considered the quantum brachistochrone problem for the non-Hermitian $\cal PT$-symmetric quantum system and have shown that the optimal time evolution required to transform a given initial state $|ψ_i\rangle$ into a specific final state $|ψ_f\rangle$ can be made arbitrarily small. Additionally, it has been shown that finding the shortest possible time requires only the solution of the two-dimensional problem for the quantum system governed by the effective Hamiltonian acting in the subspace spanned by $|ψ_i\rangle$ and $|ψ_f\rangle$. In this paper, we study a simil…
The monopole for the geometric curvature is studied for non-Hermitian systems. We find that the monopole contains not only the exceptional points but also branch cuts. As the mathematical choice of branch cut in the complex plane is rather arbitrary, the monopole changes with the branch-cut choice. Despite this branch-cut dependence, our monopole is invariant under the $GL(l,\mathbb{C})$ gauge transformation that is inherent in non-Hermitian systems. Although our results are generic, they are presented in the context of a two-mode non-Hermitian Dirac model. A corresponding two-mode Hermitian s…
Recently, apparent nonphysical implications of non-Hermitian quantum mechanics (NHQM) have been discussed in the literature. In particular, the apparent violation of the no-signaling theorem, discrimination of nonorthogonal states, and the increase of quantum entanglement by local operations were reported, and therefore NHQM was not considered as a fundamental theory. Here we show that these and other no-go principles (including the no-cloning and no-deleting theorems) of conventional quantum mechanics still hold in finite-dimensional non-Hermitian quantum systems, including parity-time symmet…
It is still a challenge to experimentally realize shortcuts to adiabaticity (STA) for a non-Hermitian quantum system since a non-Hermitian quantum system's counterdiabatic driving Hamiltonian contains some unrealizable auxiliary control fields. In this paper, we relax the strict condition in constructing STA and propose a method to redesign a realizable supplementary Hamiltonian to construct non-Hermitian STA. The redesigned supplementary Hamiltonian can be eithersymmetric or asymmetric. For the sake of clearness, we apply this method to an Allen-Eberly model as an example to verify the validi…
We give an explicit characterization of the most general quasi-Hermitian operator H, the associated metric operators η_+, and η_+-pseudo-Hermitian operators acting in two-dimensional complex Euclidean space C^2. These operators represent the physical observables of a model whose Hamiltonian and Hilbert space are respectively H and C^2 endowed with the inner product defined by η_+. Our calculations allows for a direct demonstration of the fact that the choice of an irreducible family of observables fixes the metric operator up to a multiplicative factor.
In this paper, we test and compare the performance of two different theoretical methods that use anti-Hermitian terms for modeling open quantum systems. It is, the non-Hermitian quantum mechanics method (NHQM) and the recent methodology known as corrected non-Hermitian effective Hamiltonian (corrected NHEH) approach. In particular, we provide a comprehensive analysis of the performance of these two theoretical approaches by describing the dynamics of the pumped-dissipative Jaynes--Cummings model. Our results demonstrate that whereas the NHQM method fails for describing correctly the time evolu…
Explicitly time-dependent pseudo-Hermitian (TDPH) invariants theory systems, with a time-dependent (TD) metric, is developed for a time-dependent non Hermitian (TDNH) quantum systems. We derive a simple relation between the eigenstates of this pseudo-Hermitien (PH) invariant and the solutions of the Schrodinger equation. A physical system is treated in detail: the TD Swanson model, where an explicitly TDPH invariant is derived for this system, the eigenvalues and eigenstates of the invariant are calculated explicitly.
Noise is ubiquitous in real quantum systems, leading to non-Hermitian quantum dynamics, and may affect the fundamental states of matter. Here we report in experiment a quantum simulation of the two-dimensional non-Hermitian quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) model using the nuclear magnetic resonance processor. Unlike the usual experiments using auxiliary qubits, we develop a stochastic average approach based on the stochastic Schrödinger equation to realize the non-Hermitian dissipative quantum dynamics, which has advantages in saving the quantum simulation sources and simplifies implementation of …
