Stone's Theorem On One-parameter Unitary Groups Website Links For
Stones
 

Information About

Stone's Theorem On One-parameter Unitary Groups




: \{U_t\}_{t \in \mathbb{R}}

which are Strongly Continuous , that is

: \lim_{t ightarrow t_0} U_t \xi = U_{t_0} \xi \quad orall t_0 \in \mathbb{R}, \xi \in H

and are homomorphisms:

: U_{t+s} = U_t U_s. \quad

Such one-parameter families are ordinarily referred to as strongly continuous one-parameter unitary groups. The theorem is named after Marshall Stone who formulated and proved this theorem in 1932 .

The formal statement is as follows:

Theorem. Let ''A'' be a self-adjoint operator on a Hilbert space ''H''. Then

: U_t = e^{i t A} \quad t \in \mathbb{R}

is a strongly continuous one-parameter family of unitary operators. The Infinitesimal Generator of {''U''''t''}''t'' is the operator i ''A''. This mapping is a bijective correspondence.

''A'' will be a bounded operator Iff the operator-valued function ''t'' → ''U''''t'' is Norm continuous.

Example. The family of translation operators

: \psi (x) = \psi(x + t) \quad

is a one-parameter unitary group of unitary operators; the infinitesimal generator of this family is an extension of the differential operator

: rac{d}{dx} = i rac{1}{i} rac{d}{dx}

defined on the space of complex-valued continuously differentiable functions of compact support on R. Thus

: T_t = e^{t \, {d}/{dx}}. \quad

Stone's theorem has numerous applications in Quantum Mechanics . For instance, given an isolated quantum mechanical system, with Hilbert space of states ''H'', time evolution is a strongly continuous one-parameter unitary group on ''H''. The infinitesimal generator of this group is the system Hamiltonian .

The Hille-Yosida Theorem is a generalization of Stone's theorem to strongly continuous one-parameter semigroups of Contraction s on a Banach Space s.


REFERENCES


  • M. H. Stone, ''On one-parameter unitary groups in Hilbert Space'', Annals of Mathematics 33, 643-648, (1932).


  • K. Yosida, ''Functional Analysis'', Springer-Verlag, (1968)