PT symmetry and spontaneous symmetry breaking in a microwave billiard
Quantum Physics
2012-01-12 v3 Mathematical Physics
math.MP
Abstract
We demonstrate the presence of parity-time (PT) symmetry for the non-Hermitian two-state Hamiltonian of a dissipative microwave billiard in the vicinity of an exceptional point (EP). The shape of the billiard depends on two parameters. The Hamiltonian is determined from the measured resonance spectrum on a fine grid in the parameter plane. After applying a purely imaginary diagonal shift to the Hamiltonian, its eigenvalues are either real or complex conjugate on a curve, which passes through the EP. An appropriate basis choice reveals its PT symmetry. Spontaneous symmetry breaking occurs at the EP.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1107.4256,
title = {PT symmetry and spontaneous symmetry breaking in a microwave billiard},
author = {S. Bittner and B. Dietz and U. Guenther and H. L. Harney and M. Miski-Oglu and A. Richter and F. Schaefer},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1107.4256},
year = {2012}
}