Twin Hamiltonians, three types of the Dyson maps, and the probabilistic interpretation problem in quasi-Hermitian quantum mechanics

Abstract

In the framework of the so-called quasi-Hermitian quantum mechanics of stationary unitary systems, bound states are usually constructed as eigenstates $|ψ_n \rangle$ of a Hamiltonian operator $H$ with real spectrum which is non-Hermitian, $H \neq H^\dagger$. One of the ways of the standard probabilistic interpretation of such systems consists in a transformation of $H$ into its isospectral Hermitian ``twin" $\mathfrak{h}= \mathfrak{h}^\dagger$ via one of the so-called Dyson maps $Ω: H \to \mathfrak{h}$. Naturally, the well known ambiguity of these $H-$dependent Dyson-map transformations implies also an ambiguity of the physical, $Ω-$dependent probabilistic and experimental interpretation of the system in question. In the present paper, an exhaustive classification of all of the eligible $H-$dependent Dyson maps $Ω=Ω(H)$ is provided, implying also a systematic framework for a specification of all of the possible probabilistic interpretations of the quantum system characterized by a preselected $H$.