Spectra of observables in the \(q\)-oscillator and \(q\)-analogue of the Fourier transform (Q2495119)

The author studies self-adjoint extensions of the position and momentum operators \(Q\) and \(P\) for the \(q\)-oscillator with the main relation \(aa^{+}-qa^{+}a=1\), when \(q>1\). For these values of \(q\) the operators \(Q\) and \(P\) are unbounded and not essentially self-adjoint. In an appropriate basis these operators can be represented by a Jacobi matrix and hence they can be studied using \(q\)-orthogonal polynomials associated to them. Rewriting the latter ones using the \(q^{-1}\)-continuous Hermite polynomials and using orthogonality measures for them the author determines the spectra of self-adjoint extensions of \(Q\) and \(P\). As a consequence one gets that the creation and annihilation operators \(a^{+}\) and \(a\) of the \(q\)-oscillator do not determine uniquely the physical system in the case \(q>1\). In order to determine this system uniquely one has to choose appropriate self-adjoint extensions of \(Q\) and \(P\).