Spectral properties of the scaled quartic anharmonic oscillator (Q1103934)

The analytic properties of the eigenvalues of the scaled quartic anharmonic oscillator are studied for complex values of the quadratic coupling constant \(\gamma\). The spectral crossing points that are square root singularities of the eigenvalues are located in the complex \(\gamma\)-plane by numerical methods. The quantum numbers associated with the crossing points are determined and a suitable Riemann surface for the energy is chosen in each parity that contains an infinite number of sheets with one for each quantum number n. The distribution of crossing points is studied and an accumulation is expected on the asymptotic sheet of the Riemann surface. Qualitative arguments that a relation exists between the lack of smoothness in crossing a separatrix orbit in a classical problem and the phenomena of level crossing in the corresponding quantum problem are presented. This relation gives a new insight into the divergence of perturbation theory for the quartic anharmonic oscillator and also may have implications for problems exhibiting quantum chaos.