Periodic Jacobi operators with complex coefficients (Q2247206)

The subject of the paper is the spectral theory of the discrete periodic Jacobi operator \(L\) defined on \(\ell^2(\mathbb{Z})\): \[ (Lw)(n):=a(n)w(n+1)+a(n-1)w(n-1)+b(n)w(n), \quad n\in\mathbb{Z}, \] where the coefficients \(a(n)\neq0\) and \(b(n)\) are complex periodic sequences of a given period \(N\in\mathbb{N}\). This problem is studied by considering the second-order difference equation \[ (Lw)(n)=\lambda w(n), \quad n\in\mathbb{Z}, \quad \lambda\in\mathbb{C}. \tag{\(*\)} \] Special attention is given to the Floquet theory, certain classes of isospectral operators, the spectrum for the Dirichlet boundary condition at \(n=0\) and \(n=N\), the unperturbed operator \(\tilde L\), i.e., the operator \(L\) with \(a(n)\equiv-1\) and \(b(n)\equiv0\): \[ (\tilde Lw)(n):=-w(n+1)-w(n-1), \quad n\in\mathbb{Z}, \] the discrete Schrödinger operator \(L_{\mathrm{Schr}}\), i.e., the operator \(L\) with \(a(n)\equiv-1\): \[ (L_{\mathrm{Schr}}\,w)(n):=-w(n+1)-w(n-1)+b(n)w(n), \quad n\in\mathbb{Z}, \] and its discrete Hill discriminant, and the operator \(L\) having its spectrum in the form of a closed line segment. Several examples are discussed in details. When the coefficients are real-valued, the (symmetric) three-term difference equation (\(*\)) has been studied within the theory of symplectic difference systems, see e.g. [\textit{R. Šimon Hilscher} and \textit{V. Zeidan}, Adv. Difference Equ. 2010, Article ID 626942, 17 p. (2010; Zbl 1198.39002)] and references therein.