Difference ladder operators for a harmonic Schrödinger oscillator using unitary linear lattices (Q1874177)

The authors present the formalism of raising/lowering ladder operators for a harmonic oscillator equation on a unitary linear lattice. First the properties of a unitary lattice are discussed. This is a discrete subset of the real line, generated as a sequence by an affine map. Special cases are the equidistant grid \(h\mathbb Z\) and the \(q\)-linear grid \(q^\mathbb Z\). After establishing the ladder formalism the authors discuss functional analytic properties of the relevant operators, also with respect to the limit process \(h\to 0\) or \(q \to 1\). Finally some connections to quantum mechanics, \(q\)-difference equations and orthogonal polynomials are pointed out.