Nonlocality of Observables in Quasi-Hermitian Quantum Theory

Abstract

Explicit construction of local observable algebras in quasi-Hermitian quantum theories is derived in both the tensor product model of locality and in models of free fermions. The latter construction is applied to several cases of a $\mathcal{P}\mathcal{T}$-symmetric toy model of particle-conserving free fermions on a 1-dimensional lattice, with nearest neighbour interactions and open boundary conditions. Despite the locality of the Hamiltonian, local observables do not exist in generic collections of sites in the lattice. The collections of sites which do contain nontrivial observables strongly depends on the complex potential.

25 pages, 1 figure

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