Seminario per gli studenti di dottorato in collaborazione con Appunti di Fisica e Colloqui di Fisica:
Non-Hermitian Physics from late 90s to today: a (personal) overview
Federico Roccati (Dipartimento di Fisica e Chimica Emilio Segrè - Università degli Studi di Palermo)
22 ottobre ore 15:00
Aula Leonardo, Dipartimento MIFT - Università degli Studi di Messina
Abstract
Is Hermiticity in quantum mechanics a fundamental axiom? This question has
become a hot topic after the PRL by Bender and Boettcher in 1998. They realized that
a “Hamiltonian” can have a real spectrum when it simultaneously respects spatial
inversion and time reversal symmetries, despite being non-Hermitian. Soon after, the
exotic properties of non-Hermitian Hamiltonians have been explored both theoretically
and experimentally by many researchers, leading to the development of a dedicated
scientific community.
Nowadays non-Hermitian physics touches many fields, from quantum optics to
condensed matter and high-energy physics, a common thread being the description of
the no-jump trajectories of open quantum systems. In this talk, starting from its
“recent” origin, I will give a description on the state of the art of non-Hermitian physics,
in particular in the context of open quantum systems and quantum nanophotonics,
present recent results of mine and collaborators, and provide a perspective on the
current and promising future challenges in the field.