Generalized Nonanalytic Expansions, PT-Symmetry and Large-Order Formulas for Odd Anharmonic Oscillators
The concept of a generalized nonanalytic expansion which involves nonanalytic combinations of exponentials, logarithms and powers of a coupling is introduced and its use illustrated in various areas of physics. Dispersion relations for the resonance energies of odd anharmonic oscillators are discuss...
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irk-123456789-1492582019-02-20T01:28:09Z Generalized Nonanalytic Expansions, PT-Symmetry and Large-Order Formulas for Odd Anharmonic Oscillators Jentschura, U.D. Surzhykov, A. Zinn-Justin, J. The concept of a generalized nonanalytic expansion which involves nonanalytic combinations of exponentials, logarithms and powers of a coupling is introduced and its use illustrated in various areas of physics. Dispersion relations for the resonance energies of odd anharmonic oscillators are discussed, and higher-order formulas are presented for cubic and quartic potentials. 2009 Article Generalized Nonanalytic Expansions, PT-Symmetry and Large-Order Formulas for Odd Anharmonic Oscillators / U.D. Jentschura, A. Surzhykov, J. Zinn-Justin // Symmetry, Integrability and Geometry: Methods and Applications. — 2009. — Т. 5. — Бібліогр.: 30 назв. — англ. 1815-0659 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification: 81Q15; 81T15 http://dspace.nbuv.gov.ua/handle/123456789/149258 en Symmetry, Integrability and Geometry: Methods and Applications Інститут математики НАН України |
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The concept of a generalized nonanalytic expansion which involves nonanalytic combinations of exponentials, logarithms and powers of a coupling is introduced and its use illustrated in various areas of physics. Dispersion relations for the resonance energies of odd anharmonic oscillators are discussed, and higher-order formulas are presented for cubic and quartic potentials. |
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Jentschura, U.D. Surzhykov, A. Zinn-Justin, J. Generalized Nonanalytic Expansions, PT-Symmetry and Large-Order Formulas for Odd Anharmonic Oscillators Symmetry, Integrability and Geometry: Methods and Applications |
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Jentschura, U.D. Surzhykov, A. Zinn-Justin, J. |
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Generalized Nonanalytic Expansions, PT-Symmetry and Large-Order Formulas for Odd Anharmonic Oscillators |
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Generalized Nonanalytic Expansions, PT-Symmetry and Large-Order Formulas for Odd Anharmonic Oscillators |
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Generalized Nonanalytic Expansions, PT-Symmetry and Large-Order Formulas for Odd Anharmonic Oscillators |
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Generalized Nonanalytic Expansions, PT-Symmetry and Large-Order Formulas for Odd Anharmonic Oscillators |
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Generalized Nonanalytic Expansions, PT-Symmetry and Large-Order Formulas for Odd Anharmonic Oscillators |
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generalized nonanalytic expansions, pt-symmetry and large-order formulas for odd anharmonic oscillators |
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Інститут математики НАН України |
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2009 |
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Generalized Nonanalytic Expansions, PT-Symmetry and Large-Order Formulas for Odd Anharmonic Oscillators / U.D. Jentschura, A. Surzhykov, J. Zinn-Justin // Symmetry, Integrability and Geometry: Methods and Applications. — 2009. — Т. 5. — Бібліогр.: 30 назв. — англ. |
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Symmetry, Integrability and Geometry: Methods and Applications |
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AT jentschuraud generalizednonanalyticexpansionsptsymmetryandlargeorderformulasforoddanharmonicoscillators AT surzhykova generalizednonanalyticexpansionsptsymmetryandlargeorderformulasforoddanharmonicoscillators AT zinnjustinj generalizednonanalyticexpansionsptsymmetryandlargeorderformulasforoddanharmonicoscillators |
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2025-07-12T21:42:57Z |
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Symmetry, Integrability and Geometry: Methods and Applications SIGMA 5 (2009), 005, 10 pages
Generalized Nonanalytic Expansions,
PT -Symmetry and Large-Order Formulas
for Odd Anharmonic Oscillators?
Ulrich D. JENTSCHURA †1, Andrey SURZHYKOV †2 and Jean ZINN-JUSTIN †3
†1 Department of Physics, Missouri University of Science and Technology,
Rolla MO65409-0640, USA
E-mail: ulj@mst.edu
†2 Physikalisches Institut der Universität, Philosophenweg 12, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
†3 CEA, IRFU and Institut de Physique Théorique, Centre de Saclay,
F-91191 Gif-Sur-Yvette, France
Received October 30, 2008, in final form January 07, 2009; Published online January 13, 2009
doi:10.3842/SIGMA.2009.005
Abstract. The concept of a generalized nonanalytic expansion which involves nonanalytic
combinations of exponentials, logarithms and powers of a coupling is introduced and its use
illustrated in various areas of physics. Dispersion relations for the resonance energies of odd
anharmonic oscillators are discussed, and higher-order formulas are presented for cubic and
quartic potentials.
Key words: PT -symmetry; asymptotics; higher-order corrections; instantons
2000 Mathematics Subject Classification: 81Q15; 81T15
1 Introduction and motivation
In many cases, a simple power series, which may be the result of a Taylor expansion, is not enough
in order to describe a physical phenomenon. Furthermore, even if a power series expansion
(e.g., of an energy level in terms of some coupling parameter) is possible, then it may not be
convergent [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Physics is more complicated, and generalizations of the concept of
a simple Taylor series are called for.
Let us start with a simple example, an electron bound to a nucleus. It is described to a good
accuracy by the Dirac equation involving the Dirac–Coulomb (DC) Hamiltonian,
HDCψ = EDCψ, HDC = ~α · ~p+ βm− Zα
r
.
Here, natural units (~ = c = ε0 = 1) are employed, and the familiar Dirac matrices are denoted
by the symbols ~α and β. The energy of an nS1/2 state (we use the usual spectroscopic notation
for the quantum numbers) reads, when expanded up to sixth order in the parameter Zα,
EDC = m− (Zα)2m
2n2
− (Zα)4m
n3
(
1
2
− 3
8n
)
+
(Zα)6m
n3
(
−1
8
− 3
8n
+
3
4n2
− 5
16n3
)
+O(Zα)6.
?This paper is a contribution to the Proceedings of the VIIth Workshop “Quantum Physics with Non-
Hermitian Operators” (June 29 – July 11, 2008, Benasque, Spain). The full collection is available at
http://www.emis.de/journals/SIGMA/PHHQP2008.html
mailto:ulj@mst.edu
http://dx.doi.org/10.3842/SIGMA.2009.005
http://www.emis.de/journals/SIGMA/PHHQP2008.html
2 U.D. Jentschura, A. Surzhykov and J. Zinn-Justin
This is a power expansion in the parameter Zα, where Z is the nuclear charge number and α is
the fine-structure constant, and for Zα < 1, it converges to the well-known exact Dirac–Coulomb
eigenvalue [6].
On the other hand, let us suppose, hypothetically, that the electron were to carry no spin.
Then, the equation would change to the bound-state equation for a Klein–Gordon particle,
HKGψ = EKGψ, HKG =
√
~p 2 +m2 − Zα
r
.
In the expansion of an S-state energy levels in terms of Zα, an irregularity develops for spinless
particles, namely, a (Zα)5 term, and the (Zα)6 term carries a logarithm (see [7] for a detailed
derivation):
EKG = m− (Zα)2m
2n2
− (Zα)4m
n3
(
1− 3
8n
)
+
8 (Zα)5m
3π n3
+
(Zα)6m
n3
[
ln(Zα) +
7
π2
ζ(3)
− 2
π2
+ Ψ(n) + γE − ln(n)− 1
n
+
5
3n2
− 5
16n3
− 29
12
]
+O(Zα)6.
The expansion is nonanalytic (we denote by Ψ the logarithmic derivative of the Gamma function,
and γE is Euler’s constant). The occurrence of nonanalytic terms has been key not only to gene-
ral bound-state calculations, but in particular also to Lamb shift calculations, which entail
nonanalytic expansions in the electron-nucleus coupling strength Zα in addition to power series
in the quantum electrodynamic (QED) coupling α. A few anecdotes and curious stories are
connected with the evaluation of higher-order logarithmic corrections to the Lamb shift [8, 9,
10, 11]. The famous and well-known Bethe logarithm, by the way, is the nonlogarithmic (in Zα)
part of the energy shift in the order α(Zα)4, and it is a subleading term following the leading-
order effect which is of the functional form α(Zα)4 ln(Zα).
It does not take the additional complex structure of a Lamb shift calculation to necessitate the
introduction of logarithms, as a simple model example based on an integral demonstrates [12],∫ 1
0
√
ω2 + β2
1− ω2
dω
β→0
= 1 + β2
{
1
2
ln
(
4
β
)
+
1
4
}
+ β4
{
− 1
16
ln
(
4
β
)
+
3
64
}
+ β6
{
3
128
ln
(
4
β
)
− 3
128
}
+O(β8 lnβ).
Another typical functional form in the description of nature, characteristic of tunneling pheno-
mena, is an exponential factor. Let us consider, following Oppenheimer [13], a hydrogen atom
in an external electric field (with field strength | ~E|). The nonperturbative decay width due to
tunneling is proportional to
exp
[
−2(Zα)3m
3|e ~E|
]
,
where |e ~E| is the modulus of the electron’s electric charge multiplied by the static electric field
strength.
We have by now encountered three functional forms which are typically necessary in order
to describe expansions of physical quantities: these are simple powers, which are due to higher-
order perturbations in some coupling parameter, logarithms due to some cutoff, and nonanalytic
exponentials. The question may be asked as to whether phenomena exist whose description
requires the use of all three mentioned functional forms within a single, generalized nonanalytic
expansion?
Nonanalytic Expansions and Anharmonic Oscillators 3
The answer is affirmative, and indeed, for the description of energy levels of the double-well
potential, it is known that we have to invoke a triple expansion in the quantities exp(−A/g), ln(g)
and powers of g in order to describe higher-order effects [14, 15] (here, g is a coupling parame-
ter which is roughly proportional to the inverse distance of the two minima of the double-well
potential). Other potentials, whose ground-state energy has a vanishing perturbative expan-
sion to all orders (e.g., the Fokker–Planck potential), also can be described using generalized
expansions [16]. The double-well and the Fokker–Planck Hamiltonians have stable, real eigenva-
lues when acting on the Hilbert space of square-integrable wave functions (no complex resonance
eigenvalues). An interesting class of recently studied potentials is PT -symmetric [17, 18, 19, 20].
Odd anharmonic oscillators for imaginary coupling fall into this class, but the double-well and
the Fokker–Planck Hamiltonians do not. The purpose of this contribution is to assert that
the concept of PT -symmetry is helpful as an auxiliary device in the study of odd anharmonic
oscillators.
In contrast to our recent investigation [21], we here focus on a few subtle issues associated
with the formulation of the dispersion relation for odd anharmonic oscillators (Section 2), before
giving a few new results for the cubic and quartic anharmonic oscillators in Section 3. In [21],
by contrast, we focus on the sextic and septic oscillators. Conclusions are reserved for Section 4.
2 Toward anharmonic oscillators
Let us briefly recall why it is nontrivial to write dispersion relations for the energy levels of
odd anharmonic oscillators. We consider as an example an odd perturbation of the form γx3,
with a coupling parameter γ, and we emphasize the differences to even anharmonic oscillators.
Let us therefore investigate, as a function of the coupling parameter γ, the quartic and cubic
potentials u(γ, x) = 1
2x
2 + γx4 and v(γ, x) = 1
2x
2 + γx3.
For the quartic potential and positive coupling γ > 0, the spectrum of the Hamiltonian
−1
2∂
2
x + u(γ > 0, x), endowed with L2 boundary conditions, consists of discrete energy levels
which represent physically stable states with zero decay width. For γ < 0, the potential u(γ, x)
has a double-hump structure, and the particle can escape either to the left or to the right of
the “middle valley” by tunneling (see Figs. 1(a) and 1(b)). So, when we change the sign of
the coupling parameter, then “the physics of the potential changes drastically.” We can then
use the fact that, as a function of γ, the energy eigenvalues of the quartic oscillator have a
branch cut along the negative real axis [1, 2, 3] and write a dispersion relation. It has been
stressed in [22, 23] that the discontinuity of the energy levels is given exactly by the instanton
configuration, and this fact has been widely used in the literature in the analysis of related
problems in quantum physics and field theory.
(Actually, when acting on L2, the negative-coupling quartic potential still possesses a real
spectrum with discrete eigenvalues, but the analysis is highly nontrivial [24]. Indeed, the natural
eigenenergies that are obtained from the real energies for positive coupling by analytic continu-
ation as the complex argument of coupling parameter and of the boundary conditions, are just
the complex resonance energies for which the dispersion relation holds.)
Now let us investigate the odd potential v(γ, x) = x2/2+γx3. When γ here changes sign, the
physics of the potential does not change (see Figs. 1(c) and 1(d)): still, the particle can escape
the “middle valley” by tunneling. Resonances occur. The question is whether we now have two
branch cuts as a function of γ, one along the positive-γ axis and one for negative γ. Should
we attempt to formulate a dispersion with integration along γ ∈ (−∞, 0) and γ ∈ (0,∞)? The
answer is no. Rather, we should redefine the coupling in such a way that the PT -symmetry
of the potential is used effectively. This means that the spectrum is real for purely imaginary
coupling γ = iβ with real β, and it is invariant under the transformation γ = iβ → γ = −iβ.
In some sense, the case of the cubic potential for purely imaginary coupling is equivalent to the
4 U.D. Jentschura, A. Surzhykov and J. Zinn-Justin
-0.5 0.5
x
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
uH1, xL � x4
+
x2
2
(a)
-0.5 0.5
x
-0.08
-0.06
-0.04
-0.02
0.02
0.04
0.06
uH-1, xL �
x2
2
- x4
(b)
-0.5 -0.4 -0.3 -0.2 -0.1 0.1 0.2
x
-0.01
0.01
0.02
vH1, xL � x3
+
x2
2
(c)
-0.2 -0.1 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
x
-0.01
0.01
0.02
vH-1, xL �
x2
2
- x3
(d)
Figure 1. Plot of the potentials u(γ, x) = 1
2x
2 + γx4 and v(γ, x) = 1
2x
2 + γx3 for positive and negative
coupling γ = ±1.
quartic potential for positive coupling parameter, and the case of the cubic potential for positive
coupling is equivalent to the quartic potential for negative coupling parameter. The key thus is
to formulate the energy levels of the cubic as a function of g = γ2, not γ itself [18].
3 Some results
We here summarize a few results obtained recently [21] regarding the higher-order corrections for
the energy levels of general even-order and odd-order anharmonic oscillators, using the quartic
and cubic potentials as examples. Let us thus consider the two Hamiltonians,
H(g) = −1
2
∂2
∂x2
+ U(g, x), U(g, x) =
1
2
x2 + gx4,
h(g) = −1
2
∂2
∂x2
+ V (g, x), V (g, x) =
1
2
x2 +
√
gx3,
in the unstable region, i.e. for g < 0 in the quartic case, and for g > 0 in the cubic case. We
assume both Hamiltonians to be endowed with boundary conditions for the resonance energies
(which leads to a nonvanishing negative imaginary part for the resonance energy eigenvalues).
Specifically, we denote the resonance eigenenergies by En(g) for the quartic and εn(g) for the
cubic, respectively. The quartic potential is plotted in the range g ∈ (−2,−1
2) in Fig. 2(a), and
the cubic potential is plotted in the range g ∈ (1
2 , 2) in Fig. 2(b).
Let us now investigate the instanton actions (see also Fig. 3). We write the classical Euclidean
actions for the quartic and cubic, respectively, as
S[x] =
∫
dt
(
1
2 ẋ
2 + 1
2x
2 + g x4
)
, s[y] =
∫
dt
(
1
2 ẏ
2 + 1
2y
2 +
√
gy3
)
,
Nonanalytic Expansions and Anharmonic Oscillators 5
(a) (b)
Figure 2. (a) The quartic potential U(g, x) = 1
2x
2 + gx4 is plotted in the parameter range g ∈
(−2.0,−0.5). As a function of the coupling g, the distance that the quantal particle has to tunnel
before it escapes from the middle valley decreases as the coupling parameter increases. The decay width
of the ground state is proportional to exp[1/(3g)] (for g < 0) and increases with the coupling. Higher-
order corrections to this well-known result are indicated here (see equation (5)). (b) The cubic potential
V (g, x) = 1
2x
2 +
√
gx3 is plotted in the parameter range g ∈ (0.5, 2.0). The decay width of the ground
state is proportional to exp[−2/(15g)] and increases with the coupling.
and perform the following scale transformation x ≡ x(t) = (−g)−1/2 q(t) and y ≡ y(t) =
−g−1/2 r(t) to arrive at
S[q] = −1
g
∫
dt
(
1
2 q̇
2 + 1
2q
2 − q4
)
, s[r] =
1
g
∫
dt
(
1
2 ṙ
2 + 1
2r
2 − r3
)
.
Indeed, the width of the resonance is proportional to the exponential of minus the Euclidean
action of the instanton configuration, which in turn is a solution to the classical equations of
motion in the “inverted” potentials F (q) = q4 − 1
2q
2 and G(r) = r3 − 1
2r
2. The instanton is
given in Fig. 3. The instanton solutions read
q(t) = qcl(t) = ± [cosh(2t) + 1]−1/2 (1)
for the quartic and
r(t) = rcl(t) = [cosh(t) + 1]−1 (2)
for the cubic potential. Evaluating the instanton action, one obtains the leading-order results,
S[qcl] = − 1
3g
, s[rcl] =
2
15g
.
Observe that both instanton actions are positive in the relevant regions, where the potential is
unstable (g < 0 and g > 0, respectively). Consequently, the decay widths of the resonances of
the quartic and cubic potential are proportional to exp[1/(3g)] and exp[−2/(15g)], respectively.
In order to evaluate higher-order corrections are general formulas for oscillators of arbitrary
degree, one needs dispersion relations. These reads for the quartic and the cubic, respectively,
En(g) = n+
1
2
− g
π
∫ 0
−∞
ds
ImEn(s+ i 0)
s(s− g)
, (3a)
6 U.D. Jentschura, A. Surzhykov and J. Zinn-Justin
(a) (b)
Figure 3. (a) Quartic instanton. (b) Cubic instanton. See also equations (1) and (2).
and [18]
εn(g) = n+
1
2
+
g
π
∫ ∞
0
ds
Im ε
(M)
n (s+ i 0)
s(s− g)
. (3b)
One might ask if the integration for the cubic really stretches to s = +∞. The answer is
affirmative: according to [25], we may write the leading terms for the complex strong-coupling
expansion for the first three resonances of the cubic as
ε0(g + i 0)
g→∞
= g1/5 0.762851775 e−i π/5,
ε1(g + i 0)
g→∞
= g1/5 2.711079923 e−i π/5,
ε2(g + i 0)
g→∞
= g1/5 4.989240088 e−i π/5.
Here, we choose boundary conditions for the wave functions such as to generate resonance
energies with a negative imaginary part, which are relevant for the dispersion integral (3b) as
they are “attached” to values of the coupling with an infinitesimal positive imaginary part.
Intuitively, we might assume that at least the second and the third resonance might disappear
for very strong coupling g. This is because the classically forbidden region of the cubic potential
which separates the fall-off region from the “middle valley” becomes smaller and smaller as the
coupling increases, and indeed, the second excited level lies well above the relevant energy region
in which tunneling would be necessary (see also Fig. 2(b)). However, this point of view does
not hold: the resonance persists for arbitrarily large coupling, and the physical picture is that
the “escape” of the probability density to infinity, which for the cubic happens in finite time,
provides for a sufficient mechanism to induce a nonvanishing decay width of the resonance,
even if the traditional tunneling picture is not applicable (similar considerations apply to the
resonances in the Stark effect [26]). These considerations can be generalized to odd potentials of
arbitrary order, and to arbitrary excited levels [21]. One result stemming from this generalization
is given in the Appendix.
Using generalized Bohr–Sommerfeld quantizations which are inspired by the treatment of
double-well-like potentials [14, 15], one can formulate a general formalism [21] which allows to
Nonanalytic Expansions and Anharmonic Oscillators 7
write down higher-order formulas for the complex resonance energies. In contrast to [21], where
we focused on the first few correction terms for the anharmonic oscillators of the third, sixth
and seventh degree, here we would like to fully concentrate on the cubic and quartic oscillators
and indicate the generalized nonanalytic expansion exclusively for the oscillators of the third
and the forth degree. Specifically, we have for a resonance of the quartic,
En(g < 0) =
∞∑
K=0
En,K gK
+
∞∑
J=1
[
i√
π n!
22n+ 1
2
(−g)n+ 1
2
exp
(
− 1
3g
)]J J−1∑
L=0
lnL
(
4
g
) ∞∑
K=0
Ξ(4,n)
J,L,Kg
K (4a)
and for a general resonance of the cubic,
εn(g > 0) =
∞∑
K=0
εn,K gK
+
∞∑
J=1
[
i√
π n!
23n
gn+ 1
2
exp
(
− 2
15g
)]J J−1∑
L=0
lnL
(
−8
g
) ∞∑
K=0
Ξ(3,n)
J,L,Kg
K , (4b)
where the Ξ are constant coefficients. (In contrast to [21], we here single out the perturbative
contributions
∑∞
K=0En,Kg
K and
∑∞
K=0 εn,Kg
K from the instanton effects, which are given by
the terms with J = 1, . . . ,∞.)
Of particular phenomenological relevance is the term with J = 1 as it contains the pertur-
bative corrections about the instanton configuration and is very important for comparison with
numerically determined resonance eigenenergies of the systems. Without details, we only quote
here [21] the results for the higher-order corrections to the ground state and to the first excited
state of the quartic, which read
ImE0(g < 0) = − exp
(
1
3 g
) √
− 2
πg
{
1 +
95
24
g − 13259
1152
g2 +
8956043
82944
g3
− 11481557783
7962624
g4 +
4580883830443
191102976
g5 − 12914334973382407
27518828544
g6 (5a)
+
6938216714164463905
660451885056
g7 − 33483882026182043052421
126806761930752
g8 +O(g9)
}
and
ImE1(g < 0) = − exp
(
1
3 g
) √
− 32
πg3
{
1 +
371
24
g − 3371
1152
g2 +
33467903
82944
g3
− 73699079735
7962624
g4 +
44874270156367
191102976
g5 − 181465701024056263
27518828544
g6 (5b)
+
133606590325852428349
660451885056
g7 − 850916613482026035123397
126806761930752
g8 +O(g9)
}
,
and for the lowest two levels of the cubic, which are
Im ε0(g > 0) = −
exp
(
− 2
15 g
)
√
πg
{
1− 169
16
g − 44507
512
g2 − 86071851
40960
g3 − 189244716209
2621440
g4
− 128830328039451
41943040
g5 − 1027625748709963623
6710886400
g6 (6a)
8 U.D. Jentschura, A. Surzhykov and J. Zinn-Justin
− 933142404651555165943
107374182400
g7 − 7583898146256325425743381
13743895347200
g8 +O(g9)
}
and
Im ε1(g > 0) = −
8 exp
(
− 2
15g
)
√
πg3/2
{
1− 853
16
g +
33349
512
g2 − 395368511
40960
g3
− 1788829864593
2621440
g4 − 2121533029723423
41943040
g5
− 27231734458812207783
6710886400
g6 − 37583589061337851179291
107374182400
g7
− 442771791224240926548268373
13743895347200
g8 +O(g9)
}
. (6b)
Note that the higher-order terms for the ground state of the cubic, by virtue of the dispersion
relation (3b), are in full agreement with the higher-order formulas given in [18]. Note also
that both above results for the ground state could have been found by plain perturbation theory
about the instanton configuration, but the results for the excited states are somewhat less trivial
to obtain; they follow from the general formalism outlined in [21].
4 Conclusions
Our generalized nonanalytic expansions (4a) and (4b) provide for an accurate description of
resonance energies of the quartic and cubic anharmonic oscillators. These combine exponential
factors, logarithms and power series in a systematic, but highly nonanalytic formula. Note that
the term “resurgent functions” has been used in the mathematical literature [27, 28, 29] in
order to describe such mathematical structures; we here attempt to denote them using a more
descriptive, alternative name.
In a general context, we conclude that a physical phenomenon sometimes cannot be described
by a power series alone. We have to combine more than one functional form in order to write
down a systematic, but not necessarily analytic expansion in order to describe the phenomenon in
question. In the context of odd anharmonic oscillators, the generalized nonanalytic expansions
which describe the energy levels in higher orders are intimately connected to the dispersion
relations (3a) and (3b) which in turn profit from the PT -symmetry of the odd anharmonic
oscillators for purely imaginary coupling. The PT -symmetry is used here as an indispensable,
auxiliary device in our analysis (it is perhaps interesting to note that the use of PT -symmetry
as an auxiliary device has recently helpful in a completely different context [30]). In our case,
very large coefficients are obtained for, e.g., the perturbation about the instanton for the first
excited state of the cubic (see equation (6b)). At a coupling of g = 0.01, the first correction term
−853g/16 halves the result for the decay width of the first excited state, and the higher-order
terms are equally important.
We have recently generalized the above treatment to higher-order corrections to anharmonic
oscillators up to the tenth order. The oscillators of degree six and seven display very peculiar
properties: for the sixth degree, some of the correction terms accidentally cancel, and for the
septic potential, the corrections can be expressed in a natural way in terms of the golden ratio
φ = (
√
5 + 1)/2. For the potential of the seventh degree, details are discussed in [21].
Let us conclude this article with two remarks regarding the necessity of using general non-
analytic expansions to describe physical phenomena. First, the occurrence of the nonanalytic
exponential terms is connected with the presence of branch cuts relevant to the description of
physical quantities as a function of the coupling, as exemplified by the equations (3a) and (3b).
Second, the presence of higher-order terms in the generalized expansions is due to our inability
Nonanalytic Expansions and Anharmonic Oscillators 9
to solve the eigenvalue equations exactly, or, in other words, to carry out WKB expansions in
closed form to arbitrarily high order. These two facts, intertwined, give rise to the mathematical
structures that we find here in equations (4a) and (4b).
Appendix
Using the dispersion relation (3b) and a generalization of the instanton configuration (2) to
arbitrary odd oscillators, one may evaluate the decay width for a general state of an odd potential
and general large-order (“Bender–Wu”) formulas for the large-order behavior of the perturbative
coefficients of arbitrary excited levels for odd anharmonic oscillators. For a general perturbation
of the form
√
g xM , with odd M ≥ 3, with resonance energies ε(M)
n (g) ∼
∑
K ε
(M)
n,Kg
K , we
obtain [21] in the limit K →∞,
ε
(M)
n,K ∼ −
(M − 2)Γ
(
(M − 2)K + n+ 1
2
)
π3/2n!22K+1−n
[
B
(
M
M − 2
,
M
M − 2
)]−(M−2)K−n−1
2
,
where B(x, y) = Γ(x)Γ(y)/Γ(x+ y) is the Euler Beta function.
Acknowledgments
U.D.J. acknowledges helpful conversations with C.M. Bender and J. Feinberg at PHHQP2008
at the conference venue in Benasque (Spain). A.S. acknowledges support from the Helmholtz
Gemeinschaft (Nachwuchsgruppe VH–NG–421).
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1 Introduction and motivation
2 Toward anharmonic oscillators
3 Some results
4 Conclusions
Appendix
References
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