A Minimax Principle for the Eigenvalues in Spectral Gaps

A minimax principle is derived for the eigenvalues in the spectralgap of a possibly non-semibounded self-adjoint operator. Itallows the nth eigenvalue of the Dirac operator with Coulombpotential from below to be bound by the nth eigenvalue of asemibounded Hamiltonian which is of interest in the contextof stability of matter. As a second application it is shownthat the Dirac operator with suitable non-positive potentialhas at least as many discrete eigenvalues as the Schrödingeroperator with the same potential.     

On the Atomic Photoeffect in Non-relativistic QED

In this paper we present a mathematical analysis of the photoelectric effect for one-electron atoms in the framework of non-relativistic QED. We treat photo-ionization as a scattering process where in the remote past an atom in its ground state is targeted by one or several photons, while in the distant future the atom is ionized and the electron escapes to spacial infinity. Our main result shows that the ionization probability, to leading order in the fine-structure constant, α, is correctly given by formal time-dependent perturbation theory, and, moreover, that the dipole approximation produces an error of only sub-leading order in α. In this sense, the dipole approximation is rigorously justified.     

Analytic Perturbation Theory and Renormalization Analysis of Matter Coupled to Quantized Radiation

For a large class of quantum mechanical models of matter and radiation we develop an analytic perturbation theory for non-degenerate ground states. This theory is applicable, for example, to models of matter with static nuclei and non-relativistic electrons that are coupled to the UV-cutoff quantized radiation field in the dipole approximation. If the lowest point of the energy spectrum is a non-degenerate eigenvalue of the Hamiltonian, we show that this eigenvalue is an analytic function of the nuclear coordinates and of α^3/2, α being the fine structure constant. A suitably chosen ground state vector depends analytically on α^3/2 and it is twice continuously differentiable with respect to the nuclear coordinates. Submitted: November 24, 2008. Accepted: March 4, 2009.     

Bounds on the Minimal Energy of Translation Invariant N-Polaron Systems

For systems of N charged fermions (e.g. electrons) interacting with longitudinal optical quantized lattice vibrations of a polar crystal we derive upper and lower bounds on the minimal energy within the model of H. Fröhlich. The only parameters of this model, after removing the ultraviolet cutoff, are the constants U > 0 and α > 0 measuring the electron-electron and the electron-phonon coupling strengths. They are constrained by the condition ${\sqrt{2}\alpha < U}For systems of N charged fermions (e.g. electrons) interacting with longitudinal optical quantized lattice vibrations of a polar crystal we derive upper and lower bounds on the minimal energy within the model of H. Fr?hlich. The only parameters of this model, after removing the ultraviolet cutoff, are the constants U > 0 and α > 0 measuring the electron-electron and the electron-phonon coupling strengths. They are constrained by the condition ?2a < U{\sqrt{2}\alpha < U}, which follows from the dependence of U and α on electrical properties of the crystal. We show that the large N asymptotic behavior of the minimal energy E _N changes at ?2a = U{\sqrt{2}\alpha=U} and that ?2a ￡ U{\sqrt{2}\alpha\leq U} is necessary for thermodynamic stability: for ${\sqrt{2}\alpha > U}${\sqrt{2}\alpha > U} the phonon-mediated electron-electron attraction overcomes the Coulomb repulsion and E _N behaves like −N ^7/3.     

Stability of the two-dimensional Fermi polaron

A system composed of an ideal gas of N fermions interacting with an impurity particle in two space dimensions is considered. The interaction between impurity and fermions is given in terms of two-body point interactions whose strength is determined by the two-body binding energy, which is a free parameter of the model. If the mass of the impurity is 1.225 times larger than the mass of a fermion, it is shown that the energy is bounded below uniformly in the number N of fermions. This result improves previous, N-dependent lower bounds, and it complements a recent, similar bound for the Fermi polaron in three space dimensions.     

Ground states in non-relativistic quantum electrodynamics

The excited states of a charged particle interacting with the quantized electromagnetic field and an external potential all decay, but such a particle should have a true ground state – one that minimizes the energy and satisfies the Schr?dinger equation. We prove quite generally that this state exists for all values of the fine-structure constant and the ultraviolet cutoff. We also show the same thing for a many-particle system under physically natural conditions. Oblatum 21-IX-2000 & 8-IV-2001?Published online: 18 June 2001     

Asymptotic completeness for the massless spin-boson model

We consider generalized versions of the massless spin-boson model. Building on the recent work in [3] and [4], we prove asymptotic completeness.     

Spectral Theory for the Standard Model of Non-Relativistic QED

For a model of atoms and molecules made from static nuclei and non-relativistic electrons coupled to the quantized radiation field (the standard model of non-relativistic QED), we prove a Mourre estimate and a limiting absorption principle in a neighborhood of the ground state energy. As corollaries we derive local decay estimates for the photon dynamics, and we prove absence of (excited) eigenvalues and absolute continuity of the energy spectrum near the ground state energy, a region of the spectrum not understood in previous investigations. The conjugate operator in our Mourre estimate is the second quantized generator of dilatations on Fock space. Supported by NSERC under Grant NA 7901.     

Exponential decay and ionization thresholds in non-relativistic quantum electrodynamics

Spatial localization of the electrons of an atom or molecule is studied in models of non-relativistic matter coupled to quantized radiation. We give two definitions of the ionization threshold. One in terms of spectral data of cluster Hamiltonians, and one in terms of minimal energies of non-localized states. We show that these two definitions agree, and that the electrons described by a state with energy below the ionization threshold are localized in a small neighborhood of the nuclei with a probability that approaches 1 exponentially fast with increasing radius of the neighborhood. The latter result is derived from a new, general result on exponential decay tailor-made for our problem, but applicable to many non-relativistic quantum systems outside quantum electrodynamics as well.     

Rayleigh Scattering at Atoms with Dynamical Nuclei

Scattering of photons at an atom with a dynamical nucleus is studied on the subspace of states of the system with a total energy below the threshold for ionization of the atom (Rayleigh scattering). The kinematics of the electron and the nucleus is chosen to be non-relativistic, and their spins are neglected. In a simplified model of a hydrogen atom or a one-electron ion interacting with the quantized radiation field in which the helicity of photons is neglected and the interactions between photons and the electron and nucleus are turned off at very high photon energies and at photon energies below an arbitrarily small, but fixed energy (infrared cutoff), asymptotic completeness of Rayleigh scattering is established rigorously. On the way towards proving this result, it is shown that, after coupling the electron and the nucleus to the photons, the atom still has a stable ground state, provided its center of mass velocity is smaller than the velocity of light; but its excited states are turned into resonances. The proof of asymptotic completeness then follows from extensions of a positive commutator method and of propagation estimates for the atom and the photons developed in previous papers. The methods developed in this paper can be extended to more realistic models. It is, however, not known, at present, how to remove the infrared cutoff. Activities supported, in part, by a grant from the Swiss National Foundation. Work partially supported by U.S. National Science Foundation grant DMS 01-00160. Supported by a NSF postdoctoral fellowship.