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Identification of the metric for diagonalizable (anti-)pseudo-Hermitian Hamilton operators represented by two-dimensional matrices

Quantum Physics 2021-02-17 v1 High Energy Physics - Phenomenology High Energy Physics - Theory Mathematical Physics math.MP

Abstract

A general strategy is provided to identify the most general metric for diagonalizable pseudo-Hermitian and anti-pseudo-Hermitian Hamilton operators represented by two-dimensional matrices. It is investigated how a permutation of the eigen-values of the Hamilton operator in the process of its diagonalization influences the metric and how this permutation equivalence affects energy eigen-values. We try to understand on one hand, how the metric depends on the normalization of the chosen left and right eigen-basis of the matrix representing the diagonalizable pseudo-Hermitian or anti-pseudo-Hermitian Hamilton operator, on the other hand, whether there has to exist a positive semi-definite metric required to set up a meaningful Quantum Theory even for non-Hermitian Hamilton operators of this type. Using our general strategy we determine the metric with respect to the two elements of the two-dimensional permutation group for various topical examples of matrices representing two-dimensional Hamilton operators found in the literature assuming on one hand pseudo-Hermiticity, on the other hand anti-pseudo-Hermiticity. The (unnecessary) constraint inferred by C. M. Bender and collegues that the C{\cal C}-operator of PT{\cal PT}-symmetric Quantum Theory should be an involution (C2=1{\cal C}^2=1) is shown - in the unbroken phase of PT{\cal PT}-symmetry - to require the Hamilton operator to be symmetric. This inconvenient restriction had been already - with hesitation - noted by M. Znojil and H. B. Geyer in 2006 (arXiv:quant-ph/0607104). A Hamilton operator proposed by T. D. Lee and C. G. Wick is used to outline implications of the formalism to higher dimensional Hamilton operators.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2102.08182,
  title  = {Identification of the metric for diagonalizable (anti-)pseudo-Hermitian Hamilton operators represented by two-dimensional matrices},
  author = {Frieder Kleefeld},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2102.08182},
  year   = {2021}
}

Comments

95 pages, 2 figures