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Consistent treatment of quantum systems with a time-dependent Hilbert space

Quantum Physics 2024-09-24 v1 General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology Mathematical Physics math.MP

Abstract

We consider some basic problems associated with quantum mechanics of systems having a time-dependent Hilbert space. We provide a consistent treatment of these systems and address the possibility of describing them in terms of a time-independent Hilbert space. We show that in general the Hamiltonian operator does not represent an observable of the system even if it is a self-adjoint operator. This is related to a hidden geometric aspect of quantum mechanics arising from the presence of an operator-valued gauge potential. We also offer a careful treatment of quantum systems whose Hilbert space is obtained by endowing a time-independent vector space with a time-dependent inner product.

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Cite

@article{arxiv.2404.01881,
  title  = {Consistent treatment of quantum systems with a time-dependent Hilbert space},
  author = {Ali Mostafazadeh},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2404.01881},
  year   = {2024}
}

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28 pages