{
  "annotation_id": "cb749b7c-ea6c-41b4-8c99-c263aa06f1d2",
  "date_created": "2026-03-02T18:02:34.044000Z",
  "date_modified": "2026-03-02T18:02:34.044000Z",
  "file_hash": "fa5e3486b44cbbd5cf81578b311e69816ea1b772a4c78f9ff7d76b1dd765def7",
  "private": false,
  "record": {
    "abstract": "One of the postulates of quantum mechanics is that the Hamiltonian is\nHermitian, as this guarantees that the eigenvalues are real. Recently there has\nbeen an interest in asking if $H^\\dagger = H$ is a necessary condition, and has\nlead to the development of PT-symmetric quantum mechanics. This note shows that\nany finite physically acceptable non-Hermitian Hamiltonian is equivalent to\ndoing ordinary quantum mechanics in a non-orthogonal basis. In particular, this\nmeans that there is no experimental distinction between PT-symmetric quantum\nmechanics and ordinary quantum mechanics for finite systems. In particular, the\nclaim that PT-symmetric quantum mechanics allows for faster evolution than\nHermitian quantum mechanics is shown to be a problem of physical\ninterpretation.",
    "arxiv_id": "quant-ph/0701223",
    "authors": [
      "Damien Martin"
    ],
    "categories": [
      "quant-ph",
      "hep-th"
    ],
    "title": "Is PT-symmetric quantum mechanics just quantum mechanics in a   non-orthogonal basis?",
    "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0701223"
  },
  "schema_id": "dorsal/arxiv",
  "source": {
    "execution_id": "f9c6733a-7b15-4428-a8c5-bd440a7e323e",
    "id": "arXiv Dataset IDs",
    "type": "Model",
    "variant": "snapshot-2026-03-01",
    "version": "0.1.0"
  },
  "user_id": 1000002
}