Asymptotic Stability of Non-Autonomous Systems and a Generalization of Levinson’s Theorem

We study the asymptotic stability of non-autonomous linear systems with time dependent coefficient matrices { A ( t ) } t ∈ R . The classical theorem of Levinson has been an indispensable tool for the study of the asymptotic stability of non-autonomous linear systems. Contrary to constant coefficient system, having all eigenvalues in the left half complex plane does not imply asymptotic stability of the zero solution. Levinson’s theorem assumes that the coefficient matrix is a suitable perturbation of the diagonal matrix. Our objective is to prove a theorem similar to Levinson’s Theorem when the family of matrices merely admits an upper triangular factorization. In fact, in the presence of defective eigenvalues, Levinson’s Theorem does not apply. In our paper, we first investigate the asymptotic behavior of upper triangular systems and use the fixed point theory to draw a few conclusions. Unless stated otherwise, we aim to understand asymptotic behavior dimension by dimension, working with upper triangular with internal blocks adds flexibility to the analysis.

The S-Matrix and Its Analysis

This chapter focuses on the scattering matrix, or S-matrix, an infinite-dimensional matrix or operator that expresses the state of a scattering system consisting of waves or particles or both in the far future in terms of its state in the remote past. In the case of electromagnetic (or acoustic) waves, the S-matrix connects the intensity, phase, and polarization of the outgoing waves in the far field at various angles to the direction and polarization of the beam pointed toward an obstacle. The chapter first considers the problem of scattering by a square well, located symmetrically with respect to the origin, before discussing bound states and a heuristic derivation of the Breit-Wigner formula. It als describes the Watson transform and Regge poles before concluding with an analysis of the time-independent radial Schrödinger equation and Levinson's theorem.

Variable phase equation in quantum scattering

This paper presents the derivation and applications of the variable phase equation for single channel quantum scattering. The approach was first presented in 1933 by Morse and Allis and is based on a modification of the Schrödinger equation to a first order differential equation, appropriate to the scattering problem. The dependence of phase shift on angular momentum and energy, together with Levinson's theorem, is discussed. Because the variable phase equation method is easy to program it can be further explored in an introductory quantum mechanics course.