Astrophysical evidence for the non-Hermitian but PT-symmetric Hamiltonian of conformal gravity

DOI10.1002/PROP.201200100zbMATH Open1338.81393arXiv1205.5717OpenAlexW1972832188MaRDI QIDQ2812922FDOQ2812922

Authors: Philip D. Mannheim 

Publication date: 13 June 2016

Published in: Fortschritte der Physik (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: In this review we discuss the connection between two seemingly disparate topics, macroscopic gravity on astrophysical scales and Hamiltonians that are not Hermitian but $PT$ symmetric on microscopic ones. In particular we show that the quantum-mechanical unitarity problem of the fourth-order derivative conformal gravity theory is resolved by recognizing that the scalar product appropriate to the theory is not the Dirac norm associated with a Hermitian Hamiltonian but is instead the norm associated with a non-Hermitian but $PT$-symmetric Hamiltonian. Moreover, the fourth-order theory Hamiltonian is not only not Hermitian, it is not even diagonalizable, being of Jordan-block form. With $PT$ symmetry we establish that conformal gravity is consistent at the quantum-mechanical level. In consequence, we can apply the theory to data, to find that the theory is capable of naturally accounting for the systematics of the rotation curves of a large and varied sample of 138 spiral galaxies without any need for dark matter. The success of the fits provides evidence for the relevance of non-diagonalizable but $PT$-symmetric Hamiltonians to physics.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/1205.5717

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zbMATH Keywords

PT symmetryconformal gravitygalactic rotation curvesnon-diagonalizable Hamiltonians

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Galactic and stellar dynamics (85A05) Nonselfadjoint operator theory in quantum theory including creation and destruction operators (81Q12) Finite-dimensional groups and algebras motivated by physics and their representations (81R05) Two-dimensional field theories, conformal field theories, etc. in quantum mechanics (81T40) Gravitational interaction in quantum theory (81V17) Relativistic cosmology (83F05)

Cites Work

• Solution to the ghost problem in fourth order derivative theories
• On Field Theories with Non-Localized Action
• Dirac quantization of the Pais-Uhlenbeck fourth order oscillator
• Making the case for conformal gravity
• Giving up the ghost
• \(PT\) Symmetry and necessary and sufficient conditions for the reality of energy eigenvalues
• Comprehensive solution to the cosmological constant, zero-point energy, and quantum gravity problems

Cited In (2)

• Conformal bridge transformation, \( \mathcal{PT}\)- and supersymmetry
• Stable self-interacting Pais-Uhlenbeck oscillator

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