Abstract
Bender et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 5243 (1998)] have developed -symmetric quantum theory as an extension of quantum theory to non-Hermitian Hamiltonians. We show that when this model has a local symmetry acting on composite systems, it violates the nonsignaling principle of relativity. Since the case of global symmetry is known to reduce to standard quantum mechanics A. Mostafazadeh [J. Math. Phys. 43, 205 (2001)], this shows that the -symmetric theory is either a trivial extension or likely false as a fundamental theory.
- Received 12 December 2013
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.130404
© 2014 American Physical Society
Synopsis
Reflecting on an Alternative Quantum Theory
Published 3 April 2014
A new analysis of symmetric theory—a possible alternative to conventional quantum mechanics—shows that it would allow signals to be sent faster than the speed of light.
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