There is compelling evidence that, when continuous spectrum is present, the natural mathematical setting for Quantum Mechanics is the rigged Hilbert space rather than just the Hilbert space. In particular, Dirac's bra-ket formalism is fully implemented by the rigged Hilbert space rather than just by the Hilbert space. In this paper, we provide a pedestrian introduction to the role the rigged Hilbert space plays in Quantum Mechanics, by way of a simple, exactly solvable example. The procedure will be constructive and based on a recent publication. We also provide a thorough discussion on the physical significance of the rigged Hilbert space.
We use the resonances of the spherical shell potential to present a thorough description of the Gamow (quasinormal) states within the rigged Hilbert space. It will be concluded that the natural setting for the Gamow states is a rigged Hilbert space whose test functions fall off at infinity faster than Gaussians.
Quantum mechanics in the Rigged Hilbert Space formulation describes quasistationary phenomena mathematically rigorously in terms of Gamow vectors. We show that these vectors exhibit microphysical irreversibility, related to an intrinsic quantum mechanical arrow of time, which states that preparation of a state has to precede the registration of an observable in this state. Moreover, the Rigged Hilbert Space formalism allows the derivation of an exact golden rule describing the transition of a pure Gamow state into a mixture of interaction-free decay products.
Arno Bohm and Ilya Prigogine's Brussels-Austin Group have been working on the quantum mechanical arrow of time and irreversibility in rigged Hilbert space quantum mechanics. A crucial notion in Bohm's approach is the so-called preparation/registration arrow. An analysis of this arrow and its role in Bohm's theory of scattering is given. Similarly, the Brussels-Austin Group uses an excitation/de-excitation arrow for ordering events, which is also analyzed. The relationship between the two approaches is initially discussed focusing on their semi-group operators and time arrows. Finally a possibl…
The upside-down simple harmonic oscillator system is studied in the contexts of quantum mechanics and classical statistical mechanics. It is shown that in order to study in a simple manner the creation and decay of a physical system by ways of Gamow vectors we must formulate the theory in a time-asymmetric fashion, namely using two different rigged Hilbert spaces to describe states evolving towards the past and the future. The spaces defined in the contexts of quantum and classical statistical mechanics are shown to be directly related by the Wigner function.
After a review of the arrows of time, we describe the possibilities of a time-asymmetry in quantum theory. Whereas Hilbert space quantum mechanics is time-symmetric, the rigged Hilbert space formulation, which arose from Dirac's bra-ket formalism, allows the choice of asymmetric boundary conditions analogous to the retarded solutions of the Maxwell equations for the radiation arrow of time. This led to irreversibility on the microphysical level as exemplified by decaying states or resonances. Resonances are mathematically represented by Gamow kets, functionals over a space of very well-behaved…
We construct a nuclear space $Φ$ as an inductive limit of finite-dimensional subspaces of a Hilbert space $H$ in such a way that $(Φ,H,Φ')$ becomes a rigged Hilbert space, thus simplifying the construction by Bellomonte and Trapani.
We exemplify the way the rigged Hilbert space deals with the Lippmann-Schwinger equation by way of the spherical shell potential. We explicitly construct the Lippmann-Schwinger bras and kets along with their energy representation, their time evolution and the rigged Hilbert spaces to which they belong. It will be concluded that the natural setting for the solutions of the Lippmann-Schwinger equation--and therefore for scattering theory--is the rigged Hilbert space rather than just the Hilbert space.
The rigged Hilbert space of the algebra of the one-dimensional rectangular barrier potential is constructed. The one-dimensional rectangular potential provides another opportunity to show that the rigged Hilbert space fully accounts for Dirac's bra-ket formalism. The analogy between Dirac's formalism and Fourier methods is pointed out.
It is well known that related with the irreducible representations of the Lie group $SO(2)$ we find a discrete basis as well a continuous one. In this paper we revisited this situation under the light of Rigged Hilbert spaces, which are the suitable framework to deal with both discrete and bases in the same context and in relation with physical applications.
We explicitly construct the Rigged Hilbert Space (RHS) of the free Hamiltonian $H_0$. The construction of the RHS of $H_0$ provides yet another opportunity to see that when continuous spectrum is present, the solutions of the Schrodinger equation lie in a RHS rather than just in a Hilbert space.
We construct a rigged Hilbert space for the square integrable functions on the line L^2(R) adding to the generators of the Weyl-Heisenberg algebra a new discrete operator, related to the degree of the Hermite polynomials. All together, continuous and discrete operators, constitute the generators of the projective algebra io(2. L^2(R) and the vector space of the line R are shown to be isomorphic representations of such an algebra and, as both these representations are irreducible, all operators defined on the rigged Hilbert spaces L^2(R) or R are shown to belong to the universal enveloping alge…
The spectrum of a quantum system has in general bound, scattering and resonant parts. The Hilbert space includes only the bound and scattering spectra, and discards the resonances. One must therefore enlarge the Hilbert space to a rigged Hilbert space, within which the physical bound, scattering and resonance spectra are included on the same footing. In these lectures, I will explain how this is done.
Despite the fact that the fundamental physical laws are symmetric in time, most observed processes do not show this symmetry. Especially the phenomenon of decay seems to involve a kind of irreversibility that makes the definition of a microscopic arrow of time possible. Such an intrinsic irreversibility is incorporated within the Rigged Hilbert Space quantum mechanics of the Brussels School, contrasting to the statements of standard quantum mechanics. As shown in this paper, the formalism bears significant advantages in the description of decaying systems, however the breaking of time symmetry…
The ability of the Rigged Hilbert Space formalism to deal with continuous spectrum is demonstrated within the example of the square barrier potential. The non-square integrable solutions of the time-independent Schrodinger equation are used to define Dirac kets, which are (generalized) eigenvectors of the Hamiltonian. These Dirac kets are antilinear functionals over the space of physical wave functions. They are also basis vectors that expand any physical wave function in a Dirac basis vector expansion. It is shown that an acceptable physical wave function must fulfill stronger conditions than…
It is shown that the natural framework for the solutions of any Schrodinger equation whose spectrum has a continuous part is the Rigged Hilbert Space rather than just the Hilbert space. The difficulties of using only the Hilbert space to handle unbounded Schrodinger Hamiltonians whose spectrum has a continuous part are disclosed. Those difficulties are overcome by using an appropriate Rigged Hilbert Space (RHS). The RHS is able to associate an eigenket to each energy in the spectrum of the Hamiltonian, regardless of whether the energy belongs to the discrete or to the continuous part of the sp…
The analytic continuation of the Lippmann-Schwinger bras and kets is obtained and characterized. It is shown that the natural mathematical setting for the analytic continuation of the solutions of the Lippmann-Schwinger equation is the rigged Hilbert space rather than just the Hilbert space. It is also argued that this analytic continuation entails the imposition of a time asymmetric boundary condition upon the group time evolution, resulting into a semigroup time evolution. Physically, the semigroup time evolution is simply a (retarded or advanced) propagator.
It is well known that a state with complex energy cannot be the eigenstate of a self-adjoint operator, like the Hamiltonian. Resonances, i.e. states with exponentially decaying observables, are not vectors belonging to the conventional Hilbert space. One can describe these resonances in an unusual mathematical formalism, based on the so-called Rigged Hilbert Space (RHS). In the RHS, the states with complex energy are denoted as Gamow Vectors (GV), and they model decay processes. We study GV of the Reversed Harmonic Oscillator (RHO), and we analytically and numerically investigate the unstable …
We show that Lie groups and their respective algebras, special functions and rigged Hilbert spaces are complementary concepts that coexist together in a common framework and that they are aspects of the same mathematical reality. Special functions serve as bases for infinite dimensional Hilbert spaces supporting linear unitary irreducible representations of a given Lie group. These representations are explicitly given by operators on the Hilbert space $\mathcal H$ and the generators of the Lie algebra are represented by unbounded self-adjoint operators. The action of these operators on element…
Quantum Mechanics and Signal Processing in the line R, are strictly related to Fourier Transform and Weyl-Heisenberg algebra. We discuss here the addition of a new discrete variable that measures the degree of the Hermite functions and allows to obtain the projective algebra io(2). A Rigged Hilbert space is found and a new discrete basis in R obtained. The operators {O[R]} defined on R are shown to belong to the Universal Enveloping Algebra UEA[io(2)] allowing, in this way, their algebraic discussion. Introducing in the half-line a Fourier-like Transform, the procedure is extended to R^+ and c…
The Rigged Hilbert Space (RHS) theory of resonance scattering and decay is reviewed and contrasted with the standard Hilbert space (HS) theory of quantum mechanics. The main difference is in the choice of boundary conditions. Whereas the conventional theory allows for the in-states $ϕ^+$ and the out-states (observables) $ψ^-$ of the S-matrix elements $(ψ^-,ϕ^+)=(ψ^{out},S ϕ^{in})$ any elements of the HS $\H$, $\{ψ^-\}=\{ϕ^+\}(=\H)$, the RHS theory chooses the boundary conditions~: $ϕ^+\inΦ_-\subset\H\subsetΦ_-^\times$, $ψ^-\inΦ_+\subset \H\subset Φ_+^\times$, where $Φ_-$ ($Φ_+$) are Hardy clas…
The Paradigms introduced in philosophy of science one century ago are shown to be quite more satisfactory of that introduced by Galileo. This is particularly evident in the physics based on Hilbert Spaces and related mathematical structures that we apply in this paper to Quantum Mechanics and to Theory of Images. An exhaustive discussion, that include the algebraic analysis of the operators acting on them, exhibits that the Hilbert Spaces -- that have fixed dimension -- must be generalized to the Rigged Hilbert Spaces that contains right inside spaces with continuous and discrete dimensions. T…
It is well known that the unboundedness of operators in Hilbert space entails domain troubles. It is also well known that most domain troubles can be surmounted by extending the Hilbert space to a rigged Hilbert space. In this note, we point out another of such troubles, namely the correspondence between the Schrodinger and the Heisenberg pictures for unbounded operators, and sketch the solution of this problem within the rigged Hilbert space.
Using the subdynamical kinetic equation for an open quantum system, a formulation is presented for performing decoherence-free (DF) quantum computing in Rigged Liouville Space (RLS). Three types of interactions were considered, and in each case, stationary and evolutionary states were evaluated for DF behavior in both the total space and the projected subspace. Projected subspaces were found using the subdynamics kinetic equation. It was shown that although the total space may be decoherent, the subspace can be DF. In the projected subspace, the evolution of the density operator may be time as…
We consider a general symplectic transformation (also known as linear canonical transformation) of quantum-mechanical observables in a quantized version of a finite-dimensional system with configuration space isomorphic to $ \mathbb{R}^{q} $. Using the formalism of rigged Hilbert spaces, we define eigenstates for all the observables. Then we work out the explicit form of the corresponding transformation of these eigenstates. A few examples are included at the end of the paper.
The main subject of the paper is the description of unstable states in quantum mechanics and quantum field theory. Unstable states in quantum field theory can only be introduced as the intermediate states and not as asymptotic states. The absence of the intermediate unstable states from the asymptotic states is compatible with unitarity. Thus the concept of an unstable state is not introduced in quantum field theory despite the fact that an unstable state has well defined linear momentum, angular momentum and other intrinsic quantum numbers. In the rigged Hilbert space quantum mechanics one ca…
We describe sets of mutually unbiased bases (MUBs) for quantum states defined over the p-adic numbers Q_p, i.e. the states that can be described as elements of the (rigged) Hilbert space L2(Q_p). We find that for every prime p>2 there are at least p+1 MUBs, which is in contrast with the situation for quantum states defined over the real line R for which only 3 MUBs are known. We comment on the possible reason for the difference regarding MUBs between these two infinite dimensional Hilbert spaces.
The time reversal and irreversibility in conventional quantum mechanics are compared with those of the rigged Hilbert space quantum mechanics. We discuss the time evolution of Gamow and Gamow-Jordan vectors and show that the rigged Hilbert space case admits a new kind of irreversibility which does not appear in the conventional case. The origin of this irreversibility can be traced back to different initial-boundary conditions for the states and observables. It is shown that this irreversibility does not contradict the experimentally tested consequences of the time-reversal invariance of the c…
This paper is a contribution to the problem of particle localization in non-relativistic Quantum Mechanics. Our main results will be (1) to formulate the problem of localization in terms of invariant subspaces of the Hilbert space, and (2) to show that the rigged Hilbert space incorporates particle localization in a natural manner.
Classical mechanics is formulated in complex Hilbert space with the introduction of a commutative product of operators, an antisymmetric bracket, and a quasidensity operator. These are analogues of the star product, the Moyal bracket, and the Wigner function in the phase space formulation of quantum mechanics. Classical mechanics can now be viewed as a deformation of quantum mechanics. The forms of semiquantum approximations to classical mechanics are indicated.
The meaning of time asymmetry in quantum physics is discussed. On the basis of a mathematical theorem, the Stone--von Neumann theorem, the solutions of the dynamical equations, the Schrödinger equation (1) for states or the Heisenberg equation (6a) for observables are given by a unitary group. Dirac kets require the concept of a RHS (rigged Hilbert space) of Schwartz functions; for this kind of RHS a mathematical theorem also leads to time symmetric group evolution. Scattering theory suggests to distinguish mathematically between states (defined by a preparation apparatus) and observables (def…
Inspired by Quantum Mechanics, we reformulate Hilbert's tenth problem in the domain of integer arithmetics into either a problem involving a set of infinitely coupled differential equations or a problem involving a Shrödinger propagator with some appropriate kernel. Either way, Mathematics and Physics could be combined for Hilbert's tenth problem and for the notion of effective computability.
The quantum mechanical formalism for position and momentum of a particle in a one dimensional cyclic lattice is constructively developed. Some mathematical features characteristic of the finite dimensional Hilbert space are compared with the infinite dimensional case. The construction of an unbiased basis for state determination is discussed.
It is shown that quantum mechanics is noncontextual if quantum properties are represented by subspaces of the quantum Hilbert space (as proposed by von Neumann) rather than by hidden variables. In particular, a measurement using an appropriately constructed apparatus can be shown to reveal the value of an observable A possessed by the measured system before the measurement took place, whatever other compatible ([B,A]=0) observable B may be measured at the same time.
The observed probabilities of quantum mechanics possess a time asymmetry which is based on the truism that a state must be prepared before an observable can be measured in it. While Hilbert space quantum theory cannot incorporate this arrow of time, the Rigged Hilbert Space (RHS) formulation of quantum mechanics provides a theory of time symmetric as well as time asymmetric quantum physics.
In this reply, we show that when we apply standard distribution theory to the Lippmann-Schwinger equation, the resulting spaces of test functions would comply with the Hardy axiom only if classic results of Paley and Wiener, of Gelfand and Shilov, and of the theory of ultradistributions were wrong. As well, we point out several differences between the ``standard method'' of constructing rigged Hilbert spaces in quantum mechanics and the method used in Time Asymmetric Quantum Theory.
In Phys. Rev. A 101, 022117 (2020), it was argued that Bell inequalities are based on classical, not quantum, physics, and hence their violation in experiments provides no support for the claimed existence of peculiar nonlocal and superluminal influences in the real (quantum) world. This Reply to Lambare's Comment, Phys. Rev. A 104, 066201 (2021), on that paper seeks to clarify some issues related to the correct use of Hilbert space quantum mechanics for identifying the microscopic causes of later macroscopic measurement outcomes, a matter not properly addressed by Bell, who used classical hid…
The view exists that the Bell inequality is a mere inconsistent application of classical concepts to a well-established quantum world. In the article, ``Nonlocality claims are inconsistent with Hilbert-space quantum mechanics'' [Phys. Rev. A, 101, 022117, (2020)], Robert B. Griffiths advocates for quantum theory's locality. Although R. B. Griffiths presents valuable insights in favor of quantum mechanics' local character, he argues the Bell inequality is an inconsistent application of classical physics to quantum mechanics. We explain why a correct assessment of the Bell inequality does not in…
A resolution of the quantum measurement problem(s) using the consistent histories interpretation yields in a rather natural way a restriction on what an observer can know about a quantum system, one that is also consistent with some results in quantum information theory. This analysis provides a quantum mechanical understanding of some recent work that shows that certain kinds of quantum behavior are exhibited by a fully classical model if by hypothesis an observer's knowledge of its state is appropriately limited.
The neutral Kaon system is used to test the quantum theory of resonance scattering and decay phenomena. The two dimensional Lee-Oehme-Yang theory with complex Hamiltonian is obtained by truncating the complex basis vector expansion of the exact theory in Rigged Hilbert space. This can be done for K_1 and K_2 as well as for K_S and K_L, depending upon whether one chooses the (self-adjoint, semi-bounded) Hamiltonian as commuting or non-commuting with CP. As an unexpected curiosity one can show that the exact theory (without truncation) predicts long-time 2 pion decays of the neutral Kaon system …
It is standardly assumed in discussions of quantum theory that physical systems can be regarded as having well-defined Hilbert spaces. It is shown here that a Hilbert space can be consistently partitioned only if its components are assumed not to interact. The assumption that physical systems have well-defined Hilbert spaces is, therefore, physically unwarranted.
Classically, electromagnetic pulses are described by real fields that couple to charged matter and propagate causally. We will show here that real fields of the form used in standard classical electromagnetic theory have a quantum mechanical interpretation in which the probability density for a photon to be at x is positive definite and operators representing all of the standard physical observables exist. A covariant alternative to the ω_{k}^{1/2} dependence that appears in most (but not all) presentations of quantum optics and quantum field theory is presented and real scalar one photon adva…
Using the bicomplex numbers $\mathbb{T}$ which is a commutative ring with zero divisors defined by $\mathbb{T}=\{w_0 + w_1 i_1 + w_2 i_2 + w_3 j | w_0, w_1, w_2, w_3 \in \mathbb{R}\}$ where $i_{1}^{2} = -1, i_{2}^{2} = -1, j^2 = 1, i_1 i_2 = j = i_2 i_1$, we construct hyperbolic and bicomplex Hilbert spaces. Linear functionals and dual spaces are considered and properties of linear operators are obtained; in particular it is established that the eigenvalues of a bicomplex self-adjoint operator are in the set of hyperbolic numbers.
The fundamental axioms of the quantum theory do not explicitly identify the algebraic structure of the linear space for which orthogonal subspaces correspond to the propositions (equivalence classes of physical questions). The projective geometry of the weakly modular orthocomplemented lattice of propositions may be imbedded in a complex Hilbert space; this is the structure which has traditionally been used. This paper reviews some work which has been devoted to generalizing the target space of this imbedding to Hilbert modules of a more general type. In particular, detailed discussion is give…
A proof that minimum uncertainty states of the simplest periodic quantum system exist in a state space that is represented by a Colombeau algebra of generalised functions but not in Hilbert space or in the space of Schwartz distributions is given. There are two significant generalisations of Hilbert space that lead to the special Colombeau algebra. The first step is to a vector space of Schwartz distributions that contains the eigenstates of operators with continuous spectra, the second is to a Colombeau algebra that provides a solution for a differential equation with non-constant coefficient…
We give analytical expressions for the eigenvalues and generalized eigenfunctions of $\hat{T}_3$, the $z$-axis projection of the toroidal dipole operator, in a system consisting of a particle confined in a thin film bent into a torus shape. We find the quantization rules for the eigenvalues, which are essential for describing measurements of $\hat{T}_3$. The eigenfunctions are not square-integrable, so they do not belong to the Hilbert space of wave functions, but they can be interpreted in the formalism of rigged Hilbert spaces as kernels of distributions. While these kernels appear to be pro…
Starting with the canonical coherent states, we demonstrate that all the so-called nonlinear coherent states, used in the physical literature, as well as large classes of other generalized coherent states, can be obtained by changes of bases in the underlying Hilbert space. This observation leads to an interesting duality between pairs of generalized coherent states, bringing into play a Gelfand triple of (rigged) Hilbert spaces. Moreover, it is shown that in each dual pair of families of nonlinear coherent states, at least one family is related to a (generally) non-unitary projective represen…
We treat space and time as bona fide quantum degrees of freedom on an equal footing in Hilbert space. Motivated by considerations in quantum gravity, we focus on a paradigm dealing with linear, first-order Hamiltonian and momentum constraints that lead to emergent features of temporal and spatial translations. Unlike the conventional treatment, we show that Klein-Gordon and Dirac equations in relativistic quantum mechanics can be unified in our paradigm by applying relativistic dispersion relations to eigenvalues rather than treating them as operator-valued equations. With time and space being…
The list of basic axioms of quantum mechanics as it was formulated by von Neumann includes only the mathematical formalism of the Hilbert space and its statistical interpretation. We point out that such an approach is too general to be considered as the foundation of quantum mechanics. In particular in this approach any finite-dimensional Hilbert space describes a quantum system. Though such a treatment might be a convenient approximation it can not be considered as a fundamental description of a quantum system and moreover it leads to some paradoxes like Bell's theorem. I present a list from …
It is shown that when properly analyzed using principles consistent with the use of a Hilbert space to describe microscopic properties, quantum mechanics is a local theory: one system cannot influence another system with which it does not interact. Claims to the contrary based on quantum violations of Bell inequalities are shown to be incorrect. A specific example traces a violation of the CHSH Bell inequality in the case of a spin-3/2 particle to the noncommutation of certain quantum operators in a situation where (non)locality is not an issue. A consistent histories analysis of what quantum …
The approximations of classical mechanics resulting from quantum mechanics are richer than a correspondence of classical dynamical variables with self-adjoint Hilbert space operators. Assertion that classical dynamic variables correspond to self-adjoint Hilbert space operators is disputable and sets unnatural limits on quantum mechanics. Well known examples of classical dynamical variables not associated with self-adjoint Hilbert space operators are discussed as a motivation for the realizations of quantum field theory that lack Hermitian field operators but exhibit interaction.
A pseudo-Hermitian coupled-channel square-well model is proposed, solved and discussed. The domain of parameters is determined where all the bound-state energies (twice degenerate with respect to the second observable which we call "spin") remain real. The standard probabilistic interpretation of the wave functions is achieved by the transition from the original elementary non-physical indefinite pseudo-metric $θ$ to another, more involved but correct positive-definite physical metric $Θ$. In our model the latter step remains comparatively easily feasible. Another fortunate circumstance emerge…
