TY - JOUR
T1 - Potential scattering and the continuity of phase-shifts
AU - Gell-Redman, Jesse
AU - Hassell, Andrew
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - Let S(k) be the scattering matrix for a Schrödinger operator (Laplacian plus potential) on Rn with compactly supported smooth potential. It is well known that S(k) is unitary and that the spectrum of S(k) accumulates on the unit circle only at 1; moreover, S(k) depends analytically on k and therefore its eigenvalues depend analytically on k provided they stay away from 1. We give examples of smooth, compactly supported potentials on Rn for which (i) the scattering matrix S(k) does not have 1 as an eigenvalue for any k > 0, and (ii) there exists k0 > 0 such that there is an analytic eigenvalue branch e2iδ(k) of S(k) converging to 1 as k ↓ k0. This shows that the eigenvalues of the scattering matrix, as a function of k, do not necessarily have continuous extensions to or across the value 1. In particular, this shows that a "micro-Levinson theorem" for non-central potentials in ℝ3 claimed in a 1989 paper of R. Newton is incorrect.
AB - Let S(k) be the scattering matrix for a Schrödinger operator (Laplacian plus potential) on Rn with compactly supported smooth potential. It is well known that S(k) is unitary and that the spectrum of S(k) accumulates on the unit circle only at 1; moreover, S(k) depends analytically on k and therefore its eigenvalues depend analytically on k provided they stay away from 1. We give examples of smooth, compactly supported potentials on Rn for which (i) the scattering matrix S(k) does not have 1 as an eigenvalue for any k > 0, and (ii) there exists k0 > 0 such that there is an analytic eigenvalue branch e2iδ(k) of S(k) converging to 1 as k ↓ k0. This shows that the eigenvalues of the scattering matrix, as a function of k, do not necessarily have continuous extensions to or across the value 1. In particular, this shows that a "micro-Levinson theorem" for non-central potentials in ℝ3 claimed in a 1989 paper of R. Newton is incorrect.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84872553912&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.4310/MRL.2012.v19.n3.a15
DO - 10.4310/MRL.2012.v19.n3.a15
M3 - Article
SN - 1073-2780
VL - 19
SP - 719
EP - 729
JO - Mathematical Research Letters
JF - Mathematical Research Letters
IS - 3
ER -