Spectral shift function for a discretized continuum

A spectral shift function (SSF) is an important object in the scattering theory which is related both to the spectral density and to the scattering matrix. In the paper, it is shown how to employ the SSF formalism to solve scattering problems when the continuum is discretized, e.g. when solving a scattering problem in a finite volume or in the representation of some finite square-integrable basis. A new algorithm is proposed for reconstructing integrated densities of states and the SSF using a union of discretized spectra corresponding to a set of Gaussian bases with the shifted scale parameters. The examples given show that knowledge of the discretized spectra of the total and asymptotic Hamiltonians is sufficient to find the scattering partial phase shifts at any required energy, as well as the resonances parameters.

Spectral asymptotics for the Schrödinger operator with a non-decaying potential

We study Schrödinger operators H ( h ) = − h 2 Δ + V ( x ) acting in L 2 ( R n ) for non-decaying potentials V. We give a full asymptotic expansion of the spectral shift function for a pair of such operators in the high energy limit. In particular for asymptotically homogeneous potentials W at infinity of degree zero, we also study the semiclassical asymptotics to give a Weyl formula of the spectral shift function above the threshold max W and Mourre estimates in the range of W except at its critical values.

Resonance index and singular μ-invariant

Given a self-adjoint operator and a relatively trace class perturbation, one can associate the singular spectral shift function – an integer-valued function on the real line which measures the flow of singular spectrum, not only at points outside of the essential spectrum, where it coincides with the classical notion of spectral flow, but at points within the essential spectrum too. The singular spectral shift function coincides with both the total resonance index and the singular μ-invariant. In this paper we give a direct proof of the equality of the total resonance index and singular μ-invariant assuming only the limiting absorption principle and no condition of trace class type – a context in which the existence of the singular spectral shift function is an open question. The proof is based on an application of the argument principle to the poles and zeros of the analytic continuation of the scattering matrix considered as a function of the coupling parameter.

On the imaginary part of coupling resonance points

We prove for rank one perturbations that the imaginary part of a coupling resonance point is inversely proportional by a factor of \(-2\) to the rate of change of the scattering phase, as a function of the coupling variable, evaluated at the real part of the resonance point. This equality is analogous to the Breit-Wigner formula from quantum scattering theory. For more general relatively trace class perturbations, we also give a formula for the spectral shift function in terms of coupling resonance points, non-real and real.