Is this licitthen why?(functional analysis question)

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the legitimacy of approximating a discrete sum over eigenvalues of a Hamiltonian operator with a continuous integral. Participants explore the implications of this approximation within the context of functional analysis and statistical mechanics.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested
  • Mathematical reasoning

Main Points Raised

  • One participant proposes that the sum over energies can be approximated by a continuous integral, suggesting that this approach is common in statistical mechanics.
  • Another participant expresses frustration and suggests looking up spectral analysis, implying that the topic may require more foundational knowledge.
  • A request for resources on spectral analysis is made, indicating a need for more accessible materials to understand the justification for the approximation.
  • Another participant suggests a simpler approximation using a direct integral over energies, but notes potential issues with convergence and the applicability of the Euler-Mc Laurin sum formula.
  • Concerns about the availability of resources are raised, with one participant mentioning unemployment as a barrier to accessing textbooks.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the validity of the approximation. There are competing views regarding the necessity of foundational knowledge in spectral analysis and the appropriateness of the proposed methods.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include the potential dependence on the definitions of the operators involved and the unresolved mathematical steps regarding the convergence of the series and integrals discussed.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to students and researchers in functional analysis, statistical mechanics, and those exploring the mathematical foundations of quantum mechanics.

lokofer
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I think i put this question before...:confused: :confused: but i can't be very sure.. let's suppose we have a Hamiltonian operator:

[tex]H= - \frac{d^2 }{dx^ 2}+V(x)[/tex] so its "energies" (eigenvalues)

satisfy that [tex]E(n)=-E(-n)[/tex] then here comes the question..is licit legal (at least as an approximation) to take:

[tex]Z(u)=\sum_{n=-\infty}^{n=\infty}e^{iuE(n)}\sim \iint dxdpe^{iup^2 +iuV(x)}[/tex] ??

The explanation is clear..you substitute a "discrete" sum over energies by a continuous sum over all the energies..classically the energy of the system is [tex]E=p^2 +V(x)[/tex] (time independent potential) , so it would be similar to take the "sum-integral" approximation (valid at least at first order ??) i know that perhaps using functional analysis you could justify my approach, as a physicist when dealing with Statistical mechanics we use it all the time since "sums" are very hard to evaluate, except when E(n)=log(n) or E(n)=n usually the exponential is "real" :rolleyes: :rolleyes: but i think that for this case this wouldn't be a problem..also if we kenw Z(u) we could obtain the inverse of the potential taking:

[tex]A\int_{-\infty}^{\infty}du \frac{Z(u)e^{-iut}}{\sqrt (u) } = V^{-1}(t)[/tex] :-p :-p
 
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Really, there is only a small number of times I can say "look up spectral analysis" before it starts becoming really really annoying, Jose.
 
Sorry..i remember you that I'm not physicist..if you could recommend me a good "arxiv2 or other online paper about preliminaries of spectral analysis where my approximation is used and justified i would be very grateful...:rolleyes: :rolleyes: the only thing i know is that the "exponential sum" will be the trace of a certain operator [tex]Tr[e^{iu\hat H }[/tex]
 
Buy any textbook on functional analysis, use google (spectral theory functional analysis), find someone's lecture notes. (and arxiv is not the p lace to learn about classical mathematics.) And this has nothing to do with you being, nor not being a physicist, but with you not listening to what people (shmoe, halls, hurkyl and me at anyrate) tell you.
 
- I can't buy any book I'm actally unemployed :frown: :frown:

- perhaps a "trivial" solution to my problem is just put:

[tex]\sum_{n=-\infty}^{\infty}e^{iuE(n)} \sim \int_{E}dEe^{iuE}[/tex]

if the "eigenvalue" are energies of a certain Hamiltonian operator [tex]H=E=p^2 + V(x)[/tex] then dE=dxdp (momentum and position) .

Using this is the only "justification", my teacher gave us when speaking about partition functions :-p the problem here is that perhaps you can't use the Euler-Mc Laurin sum formula to improve the integral-series convergence.
 
Your school probably has a library...
 

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