In 1998, Bender et al. challenged the conventional wisdom of quantum mechanics that the Hamiltonian operator of any quantum mechanical system has to be Hermitian. They showed that Hamiltonians that are invariant under combined parity-time (PT-) symmetry transformations likewise can exhibit entirely real eigenvalue spectra. This insight had a particularly profound impact in the field of photonics, where PT-symmetric potential landscapes can be implemented by appropriately distributing gain and loss for electromagnetic waves. Following this approach, it became possible to observe the hallmark features of PT-symmetry – non-orthogonal eigenmodes, exceptional points, and diffusive coherent transport – and to study their implications in settings including nonlinearity and topological phases. Similarly, PT-symmetry has enriched other research fields ranging from PT-symmetric atomic diffusion, superconducting wires, and PT-symmetric electronic circuits.
In this lecture series, the fundamental principles of PT-symmetry will be explained, with their implications on wave mechanics in both the classical and the quantum regime. An important aspect will also be the experimental implementation of the predicted phenomena.
More information: https://www.uni-rostock.de/forschung/mare-balticum-fellowship/events/complex-non-hermitian-quantum-mechanics-in-theory-and-experiment/