The duality between a non-Hermitian two-state quantum system and a massless charged particle

Robert Botet (1) , Hiroshi Kuratsuji

1 LPS - Laboratoire de Physique des Solides

We show that the equations for the dynamics of a non-Hermitian two-state quantum system are the same as the equations of motion for a massless charged particle in an electromagnetic field. Using simple analytical arguments to prove this unexpected duality between two very different domains in Physics, we further exemplify it through a case-study of polarization of light propagating in a dichroic medium with magneto-optic activity.

Mots clés: non-Hermitian quantum systems; Hamiltonian dynamics; massless particles

Domaines: Physique mathématique [math-ph]; Physique Générale [physics.gen-ph]

Robert Botet, Hiroshi Kuratsuji. The duality between a non-Hermitian two-state quantum system and a massless charged particle. Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical, 2019, 52 (3), pp.035303. ⟨10.1088/1751-8121/aaf479⟩. ⟨hal-02327639⟩