Symmetries and invariants for non-hermitian Hamiltonians

Abstract

We discuss Hamiltonian symmetries and invariants for quantum systems driven by non-Hermitian Hamiltonians. For time-independent Hermitian Hamiltonians, a unitary or antiunitary transformation AHA† that leaves the Hamiltonian H unchanged represents a symmetry of the Hamiltonian, which implies the commutativity [H, A] = 0 and, if A is linear and time-independent, a conservation law, namely the invariance of expectation values of A. For non-Hermitian Hamiltonians, H† comes into play as a distinct operator that complements H in generalized unitarity relations. The above description of symmetries has to be extended to include also A-pseudohermiticity relations of the form AH = H†A. A superoperator formulation of Hamiltonian symmetries is provided and exemplified for Hamiltonians of a particle moving in one-dimension considering the set of A operators that form Klein's 4-group: parity, time-reversal, parity & time-reversal, and unity. The link between symmetry and conservation laws is discussed and shown to be richer and subtler for non-Hermitian than for Hermitian Hamiltonians.