All Questions
5 questions
23
votes
2
answers
3k
views
States in C*-algebras and their origin in physics?
in $C^*-$algebras with unit element, there is the definition of a state, as a functional $\omega$ with $\omega(e)=||\omega||=1.$
Now, of course there is also in classical physics and quantum ...
10
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Why does Riesz's Representation Theorem apply in quantum mechanics?
$\DeclareMathOperator\tr{tr}$One begins with a quantum mechanical system, i.e. a unital $C^*$-algebra $A$.
It is common to begin the discussion with embedding $A$ into the algebra of bounded operators ...
6
votes
2
answers
539
views
Is there a reasonable notion of spectral theorem on a pre-Hilbert space?
I'm trying to understand how bad things could possibly get without Cauchy completeness as a criterion for Hilbert spaces in quantum mechanics. Obviously, doing calculus on a pre-Hilbert space would be ...
5
votes
1
answer
552
views
Scattering theory for Coulomb potential
Both physical and mathematical theories of quantum scattering seem to be well developed in the case when the potential (or a more general perturbation of the Laplacian) decays fast enough at infinity ...
4
votes
1
answer
424
views
Hilbert space representation of a vector in terms of a continuous eigenbasis
Let $\mathscr{H}$ be a complex Hilbert space and $A$ be an Hermitian operator $A: \mathscr{H}\to \mathscr{H}$. Suppose, for a moment, that $A$ has a set of discrete eigenvalues $\{\lambda_{n}\}_{n\in \...