Abstract
We develop a general variational approach to study the statistical properties of the tail states of a wide class of non-Hermitian operators. The utility of the method, which is a refinement of the instanton approach introduced by Zittartz and Langer [Phys. Rev. 148, 741 (1966)], is illustrated in detail by reference to the problem of a quantum particle propagating in an imaginary scalar potential.
- Received 23 June 1999
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.83.4373
©1999 American Physical Society
