Related papers: Rigged Hilbert Space Resonances and Time Asymmetri…
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 Schr\"odinger equation (1) for states or the Heisenberg…
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…
A slight modification of one axiom of quantum theory changes a reversible theory into a time asymmetric theory. Whereas the standard Hilbert space axiom does not distinguish mathematically between the space of states (in-states of…
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…
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…
Decaying states can be represented by Gamow vectors with an exponential, asymmetric time evolution. This asymmetric evolution is a manifestation of irreversibility on the microphysical level. The Rigged Hilbert Space provides a mathematical…
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…
Many useful concepts for a quantum theory of scattering and decay (like Lippmann-Schwinger kets, purely outgoing boundary conditions, exponentially decaying Gamow vectors, causality) are not well defined in the mathematical frame set by the…
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…
Intrinsic microphysical irreversibility is the time asymmetry observed in exponentially decaying states. It is described by the semigroup generated by the Hamiltonian $\QTR{it}{H}$ of the quantum physical system, not by the semigroup…
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…
We discuss the quantum Lax-Phillips theory of scattering and unstable systems. In this framework, the decay of an unstable system is described by a semigroup. The spectrum of the generator of the semigroup corresponds to the singularities…
For a quantum theory that includes exponentially decaying states and Breit-Wigner resonances, which are related to each other by the lifetime-width relation $\tau=\frac{\hbar}{\Gamma}$, where $\tau$ is the lifetime of the decaying state and…
In this third of a series of four articles, we continue the study of the representations of the hamiltonian dynamical transformations of systems of correlated quantized oscillators. By our use of generalized wave function solutions to…
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…
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…
Random matrix theory (RMT) universality is the defining property of quantum mechanical chaotic systems, and can be probed by observables like the spectral form factor (SFF). In this paper, we describe systematic deviations from RMT…
Relativistic resonances and decaying states are described by representations of Poincar\'e transformations, similar to Wigner's definition of stable particles. To associate decaying state vectors to resonance poles of the $S$-matrix, the…
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…
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…