English

Potential scattering and the continuity of phase-shifts

Spectral Theory 2015-02-27 v2 Analysis of PDEs

Abstract

Let S(k)S(k) be the scattering matrix for a Schr\"odinger operator (Laplacian plus potential) on \RRn\RR^n with compactly supported smooth potential. It is well known that S(k)S(k) is unitary and that the spectrum of S(k)S(k) accumulates on the unit circle only at 1; moreover, S(k)S(k) depends analytically on kk and therefore its eigenvalues depend analytically on kk provided the values stay away from 1. We give examples of smooth, compactly supported potentials on \RRn\RR^n for which (i) the scattering matrix S(k)S(k) does not have 1 as an eigenvalue for any k>0k > 0, and (ii) there exists k0>0k_0 > 0 such that there is an analytic eigenvalue branch e2iδ(k)e^{2i\delta(k)} of S(k)convergingto1as converging to 1 as k \downarrow k_0.Thisshowsthattheeigenvaluesofthescatteringmatrix,asafunctionof. This shows that the eigenvalues of the scattering matrix, as a function of k,donotnecessarilyhavecontinuousextensionstooracrossthevalue1.InparticularthisshowsthatamicroLevinsontheoremfornoncentralpotentialsin, do not necessarily have continuous extensions to or across the value 1. In particular this shows that a `micro-Levinson theorem' for non-central potentials in \RR^3$ claimed in a 1989 paper of R. Newton is incorrect.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1112.3413,
  title  = {Potential scattering and the continuity of phase-shifts},
  author = {Jesse Gell-Redman and Andrew Hassell},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1112.3413},
  year   = {2015}
}

Comments

10 pages, 2 figures. Corrections made following suggestions of referee. Acknowledgements added