WKB analysis of \mathcal P\mathcal T-symmetric Sturm–Liouville problems

DOI10.1088/1751-8113/45/44/444004zbMATH Open1263.81193arXiv1201.1234OpenAlexW3123138720MaRDI QIDQ4913232FDOQ4913232

Hugh F. Jones, Carl M. Bender

Publication date: 5 April 2013

Published in: Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: Most studies of PT-symmetric quantum-mechanical Hamiltonians have considered the Schroedinger eigenvalue problem on an infinite domain. This paper examines the consequences of imposing the boundary conditions on a finite domain. As is the case with regular Hermitian Sturm-Liouville problems, the eigenvalues of the PT-symmetric Sturm-Liouville problem grow like $n^2$ for large $n$. However, the novelty is that a PT eigenvalue problem on a finite domain typically exhibits a sequence of critical points at which pairs of eigenvalues cease to be real and become complex conjugates of one another. For the potentials considered here this sequence of critical points is associated with a turning point on the imaginary axis in the complex plane. WKB analysis is used to calculate the asymptotic behaviors of the real eigenvalues and the locations of the critical points. The method turns out to be surprisingly accurate even at low energies.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/1201.1234

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Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Closed and approximate solutions to the Schrödinger, Dirac, Klein-Gordon and other equations of quantum mechanics (81Q05) Selfadjoint operator theory in quantum theory, including spectral analysis (81Q10) Semiclassical techniques, including WKB and Maslov methods applied to problems in quantum theory (81Q20) Finite-dimensional groups and algebras motivated by physics and their representations (81R05) Sturm-Liouville theory (34B24) Singular perturbation problems for ordinary differential equations in the complex domain (complex WKB, turning points, steepest descent) (34M60)

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• Complex WKB analysis of a -symmetric eigenvalue problem
• Beyond the WKB approximation in -symmetric quantum mechanics
• Stokes phenomenon and spectral locus in a problem of singular perturbation theory

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