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Title: | Complex extension of quantum mechanics |
Authors: | Brody, DC Bender, CM Jones, HF |
Keywords: | Quantum mechanics;Space-time reflection symmetry |
Issue Date: | 2002 |
Publisher: | American Physical Society |
Citation: | Physical Review Letters, 89(27): 270401, (December 2002) |
Abstract: | Requiring that a Hamiltonian be Hermitian is overly restrictive. A consistent physical theory of quantum mechanics can be built on a complex Hamiltonian that is not Hermitian but satisfies the less restrictive and more physical condition of space-time reflection symmetry (PT symmetry). One might expect a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian to lead to a violation of unitarity. However, if PT symmetry is not spontaneously broken, it is possible to construct a previously unnoticed symmetry C of the Hamiltonian. Using C , an inner product whose associated norm is positive definite can be constructed. The procedure is general and works for any PT -symmetric Hamiltonian. Observables exhibit CPT symmetry, and the dynamics is governed by unitary time evolution. This work is not in conflict with conventional quantum mechanics but is rather a complex generalization of it. |
Description: | Erratum: Complex Extension of Quantum Mechanics [Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 270401 (2002)] Carl M. Bender, Dorje C. Brody, and Hugh F. Jones Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 119902 (2004) http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.92.119902 |
URI: | http://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.89.270401 http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/10949 |
DOI: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.89.270401 |
ISSN: | 1079-7114 |
Appears in Collections: | Dept of Mathematics Research Papers |
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