$\mathcal{PT}$-Symmetric Periodic Optical Potentials

In quantum theory, any Hamiltonian describing a physical system is mathematically represented by a self-adjoint linear operator to ensure the reality of the associated observables. In an attempt to extend quantum mechanics into the complex domain, it was realized few years ago that certain non-Hermitian parity-time (PT\mathcal{PT}) symmetric Hamiltonians can exhibit an entirely real spectrum. Much of the reported progress has been remained theoretical, and therefore hasn’t led to a viable experimental proposal for which non Hermitian quantum effects could be observed in laboratory experiments. Quite recently however, it was suggested that the concept of PT\mathcal{PT}-symmetry could be physically realized within the framework of classical optics. This proposal has, in turn, stimulated extensive investigations and research studies related to PT\mathcal{PT}-symmetric Optics and paved the way for the first experimental observation of PT\mathcal{PT}-symmetry breaking in any physical system. In this paper, we present recent results regarding PT\mathcal{PT}-symmetric Optics.     

$\mathcal{CPT}$-Symmetric Discrete Square Well

In an addendum to the recent systematic Hermitization of certain N by N matrix Hamiltonians H ^(N)(λ) (Znojil in J. Math. Phys. 50:122105, 2009) we propose an amendment H ^(N)(λ,λ) of the model. The gain is threefold. Firstly, the updated model acquires a natural mathematical meaning of Runge-Kutta approximant to a differential PT\mathcal{PT}-symmetric square well in which P\mathcal{P} is parity. Secondly, the appeal of the model in physics is enhanced since the related operator C\mathcal{C} of the so called “charge” (the requirement of observability of which defines the most popular Bender’s metric Q = PC\Theta=\mathcal{PC}) becomes also obtainable (and is constructed here) in an elementary antidiagonal matrix form at all N. Last but not least, the original phenomenological energy spectrum is not changed so that the domain of its reality (i.e., the interval of admissible couplings λ∈(−1,1)) remains the same.     

$\mathcal{PT}$ Invariant Complex E8 Root Spaces

We provide a construction procedure for complex root spaces invariant under antilinear transformations, which may be applied to any Coxeter group. The procedure is based on the factorisation of a chosen element of the Coxeter group into two factors. Each of the factors constitutes an involution and may therefore be deformed in an antilinear fashion. Having the importance of the E ₈-Coxeter group in mind, such as underlying a particular perturbation of the Ising model and the fact that for it no solution could be found previously, we exemplify the procedure for this particular case. As a concrete application of this construction we propose new generalisations of Calogero-Moser-Sutherland models and affine Toda field theories based on the invariant complex root spaces and deformed complex simple roots, respectively.     

$\mathcal{PT}$ Symmetry in Statistical Mechanics and the Sign Problem

Generalized PT\mathcal{PT} symmetry provides crucial insight into the sign problem for two classes of models. In the case of quantum statistical models at non-zero chemical potential, the free energy density is directly related to the ground state energy of a non-Hermitian, but generalized PT\mathcal{PT}-symmetric Hamiltonian. There is a corresponding class of PT\mathcal{PT}-symmetric classical statistical mechanics models with non-Hermitian transfer matrices. We discuss a class of Z(N) spin models with explicit PT\mathcal{PT} symmetry and also the ANNNI model, which has a hidden PT\mathcal{PT} symmetry. For both quantum and classical models, the class of models with generalized PT\mathcal{PT} symmetry is precisely the class where the complex weight problem can be reduced to real weights, i.e., a sign problem. The spatial two-point functions of such models can exhibit three different behaviors: exponential decay, oscillatory decay, and periodic behavior. The latter two regions are associated with PT\mathcal{PT} symmetry breaking, where a Hamiltonian or transfer matrix has complex conjugate pairs of eigenvalues. The transition to a spatially modulated phase is associated with PT\mathcal{PT} symmetry breaking of the ground state, and is generically a first-order transition. In the region where PT\mathcal{PT} symmetry is unbroken, the sign problem can always be solved in principle using the equivalence to a Hermitian theory in this region. The ANNNI model provides an example of a model with PT\mathcal{PT} symmetry which can be simulated for all parameter values, including cases where PT\mathcal{PT} symmetry is broken.     

${mathcal{PT}}$-Symmetric Square Well-Perturbations and the Existence of Metric Operator

We consider PT{mathcal{PT}}-symmetric square well in more general setting: we impose PT{mathcal{PT}}-symmetric boundary conditions instead of Dirichlet ones. We investigate the existence and properties of a metric operator.     

Vector Models in \mathcal{PT} Quantum Mechanics

We present two examples of non-Hermitian Hamiltonians which consist of an unperturbed part plus a perturbation that behaves like a vector, in the framework of $\mathcal {PT}$ quantum mechanics. The first example is a generalization of the recent work by Bender and Kalveks, wherein the E2 algebra was examined; here we consider the E3 algebra representing a particle on a sphere, and identify the critical value of coupling constant which marks the transition from real to imaginary eigenvalues. Next we analyze a model with SO(3) symmetry, and in the process extend the application of the Wigner-Eckart theorem to a non-Hermitian setting.     

\mathcal{PT}-symmetric nonlinear metamaterials and zero-dimensional systems

A one dimensional, parity-time ( $\mathcal{PT}$ )-symmetric magnetic metamaterial comprising split-ring resonators having both gain and loss is investigated. In the linear regime, the transition from the exact to the broken $\mathcal{PT}$ -phase is determined through the calculation of the eigenfrequency spectrum for two different configurations; the one with equidistant split-rings and the other with the split-rings forming a binary pattern ( $\mathcal{PT}$ dimer chain). The latter system features a two-band, gapped spectrum with its shape determined by the gain/loss coefficient as well as the interelement coupling. In the presence of nonlinearity, the $\mathcal{PT}$ dimer chain configuration with balanced gain and loss supports nonlinear localized modes in the form of a novel type of discrete breathers below the lower branch of the linear spectrum. These breathers that can be excited from a weak applied magnetic field by frequency chirping, can be subsequently driven solely by the gain for very long times. The effect of a small imbalance between gain and loss is also considered. Fundamental gain-driven breathers occupy both sites of a dimer, while their energy is almost equally partitioned between the two split-rings, the one with gain and the other with loss. We also introduce a model equation for the investigation of classical $\mathcal{PT}$ symmetry in zero dimensions, realized by a simple harmonic oscillator with matched time-dependent gain and loss that exhibits a transition from oscillatory to diverging motion. This behavior is similar to a transition from the exact to the broken $\mathcal{PT}$ phase in higher-dimensional $\mathcal{PT}$ -symmetric systems. A stability condition relating the parameters of the problem is obtained in the case of a piece-wise constant gain/loss function that allows the construction of a phase diagram with alternating stable and unstable regions.     

A Generalized Family of Discrete \mathcal{PT}-symmetric Square Wells

N-site-lattice Hamiltonians H ^(N) are introduced and perceived as a set of systematic discrete approximants of a certain $\mathcal {PT}$ -symmetric square-well-potential model with the real spectrum and with a non-Hermiticity which is localized near the boundaries of the interval. Its strength is controlled by one, two or three parameters. The problem of the explicit construction of a nontrivial metric which makes the theory unitary is then addressed. It is proposed and demonstrated that due to the not too complicated (viz., tridiagonal matrix) form of our input Hamiltonians, the computation of the metric is straightforward and that its matrix elements prove obtainable, non-numerically, in elementary polynomial forms.     

Tunable $\chi /\mathcal {P}\mathcal {T}$ Symmetry in Noisy Graphene

We investigate the resonant regime of a mesoscopic cavity made of graphene or a doped beam splitter. Using Non-Hermitian Quantum Mechanics, we consider the Bender-Boettcher assumption that a system must obey parity and time reversal symmetry. Therefore, we describe such system by coupling chirality, parity, and time reversal symmetries through the scattering matrix formalism and apply it in the shot noise functions, also derived here. Finally, we show how to achieve the resonant regime only by setting properly the parameters concerning the chirality and the PT symmetry.     

F-theory,Seiberg-Witten curves and $ \mathcal{N} = {2} $ dualities

Journal of High Energy Physics - A geometrical form of the supersymmetry conditions for D-branes on arbitrary type II supersymmetric backgrounds is derived, as well as the associated BPS bounds....     

Krein-space formulation of \mathcal{P}\mathcal{T} symmetry, \mathcal{C}\mathcal{P}\mathcal{T}-inner products, and pseudo-Hermiticity

Emphasizing the physical constraints on the formulation of the quantum theory, based on the standard measurement axiom and the Schrödinger equation, we comment on some conceptual issues arising in the formulation of the $\mathcal{P}\mathcal{T}$ -symmetric quantum mechanics. In particular, we elaborate on the requirements of the boundedness of the metric operator and the diagonalizability of the Hamiltonian. We also provide an accessible account of a Krein-space derivation of the $\mathcal{C}\mathcal{P}\mathcal{T}$ -inner product, that was widely known to mathematicians since 1950’s. We show how this derivation is linked with the pseudo-Hermitian formulation of the $\mathcal{P}\mathcal{T}$ -symmetric quantum mechanics.     

Cut-and-join operators and $ \mathcal{N} = 4 $ super Yang-Mills

We show which multi-trace structures are compatible with the symmetrisation of local operators in \( \mathcal{N} = 4 \) super Yang-Mills when they are organised into representations of the global symmetry group. Cut-and-join operators give the non-planar expansion of correlation functions of these operators in the free theory. Using these techniques we find the 1/N corrections to the quarter-BPS operators which remain protected at weak coupling. We also present a new way of counting these chiral ring operators using the Weyl group S _N .     

Pseudo-Hermitian Systems with $\mathcal {P}\mathcal {T}$-Symmetry: Degeneracy and Krein Space

We show in the present paper that pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonian systems with even \(\mathcal {P}\mathcal {T}\)-symmetry \((\mathcal {P}^{2}=1,\mathcal {T}^{2}=1)\) admit a degeneracy structure. This kind of degeneracy is expected traditionally in the odd \(\mathcal {P}\mathcal {T}\)-symmetric systems \((\mathcal {P}^{2}=1,\mathcal {T}^{2}=-1)\) which is appropriate to the fermions (Scolarici and Solombrino, Phys. Lett. A 303, 239 2002; Jones-Smith and Mathur, Phys. Rev. A 82, 042101 2010). We establish that the pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonians with even \(\mathcal {P}\mathcal {T}\)-symmetry admit a degeneracy structure if the operator \(\mathcal {PT}\) anticommutes with the metric operator η _σ which is necessarily indefinite. We also show that the Krein space formulation of the Hilbert space is the convenient framework for the implementation of unbroken \(\mathcal {P}\mathcal {T}\)-symmetry. These general results are illustrated with great details for four-level pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonian with even \(\mathcal {P}\mathcal {T}\) -symmetry.     

P T $\mathcal {P}\mathcal {T}$ -symmetry in Compact Phase Space for a Linear Hamiltonian

International Journal of Theoretical Physics - We study the time evolution of a $\mathcal {P}\mathcal {T}$ -symmetric, non-Hermitian quantum system for which the associated phase space is compact....