Constructing quantum observables and self-adjoint extensions of symmetric operators. II. differential operators (Q944083)

[For part I, see (2007; Zbl 1152.81026).] The authors treat here the problem of constructing a self-adjoint (SA) differential operator \(\widehat f\) starting from a formal SA differential expression \(\widehat f\). They restrict to ordinary differential operators in \(L_2(a, b)\), \(-\infty\leq a< b\infty\), containing the Hamiltonian operator as an example and give the domain \(D_f\) of the closure \(\widehat f\) of the symmetric operator \(\widehat f^{(0)}\) associated with the expression \(\widetilde f\). The SA differential expression associated with the interval \((a, b)\) has the form \(\widetilde f= \widetilde f_{\text{even}}+ \widetilde f_{\text{odd}}= \sum_{k= 0\sim[n/2]}\widetilde f_{(2k)}+ \sum_{k= 0\sim[(n-1)/2]}\widetilde f_{(2k+1)}\), \(x\in (a,b)\); \(\widetilde f_{(2k)}= \widetilde p^k f_{2k}(\widetilde q)\widetilde p^k\), \(\widetilde f_{(2k+1)}= (1/2)(\widetilde p^{k+1} f_{2k+1}(\widetilde q)\widetilde p^k+\widehat p^k f_{2k+1}(\widetilde q)\widetilde p^{k+1})\), where \(f_{2k}(\widetilde q)= \overline f_{2k}(\widetilde q)\), \(f_{2k+ 1}(\widetilde q)= \overline f_{2k+1}(\widetilde q)\), and \((\widehat p,\widehat q)= (\widetilde p,\widetilde q)= (-id/dx, x)\) in \(D(a,b)\), \[ \begin{multlined}\int_{[a,b]} (\overline\chi\cdot\widetilde f\psi- \overline{\widetilde f\chi}\cdot \psi)(x)\,dx= [\chi,\psi](b)- [\chi, \psi](a):=\\ \lim_{\alpha\to a,\beta\to b}([\chi, \psi](\beta)- [\chi, \psi](\alpha)),\quad (\alpha, \beta)\subset (a,b),\end{multlined} \] and the natural domain of \(\widetilde f: D_*= \{\Psi_*: \Psi_*, \Psi_*,\dots, \Psi^{(n-1)}_*\), absolutely continuous in \((a, b)\); \(\Psi_*,\widetilde f\Psi_*\in L_2(a,b)\}\). They derive the following results: (I) If \(\widetilde f\) is an even SA differential expression of order \(n\) and both ends of the interval are regular, then the domain \(D_f\) of \(\widehat f\) for \(\widetilde f\) is \[ D_f= \{\Psi(x)\in D_*: \Psi^{[k]}(a)= \Psi^{[k]}(b)= ),\;k= 0,1,\dots, n-1\}. \] (II) If one end \(a\) is regular, \[ D_f= \{\Psi(x)\in D_*: \Psi^{[k]}(a)= 0,\;k= 0,1,\dots, n-1; [\Psi_*,\Psi](b)= 0,\;\forall\Psi_*\in D_*\}. \]