# Super Hamiltonian in superspace for incommensurate superlattices and   quasicrystals

**Authors:** Manuel Valiente, Callum W. Duncan, Nikolaj T. Zinner

arXiv: 1908.03214 · 2019-08-12

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a formalism for extending quantum Hamiltonians into superspace to analyze incommensurate superlattices and quasicrystals, enabling the study of their eigenstates, Green's functions, and scattering properties in a unified framework.

## Contribution

It develops a super Hamiltonian formalism that captures quasiperiodic states as projections from higher-dimensional superspace, providing a new approach to analyze quasiperiodic quantum systems.

## Key findings

- Eigenstates of quasiperiodic systems are obtained as projections of superspace Hamiltonians.
- Closed-form Green's functions for continuum states are derived, enabling calculation of density of states.
- Quasiperiodic Anderson-localized states are identified under generalized superspace boundary conditions.

## Abstract

Infinite quasiperiodic arrangements in space, such as quasicrystals, are typically described as projections of higher-dimensional periodic lattices onto the physical dimension. The concept of a reference higher-dimensional space, called a superspace, has proved useful in relation to quasiperiodic systems. Although some quantum-mechanical systems in quasiperiodic media have been shown to admit quasiperiodic states, any sort of general Hamiltonian formalism in superspace is lacking to this date. Here, we show how to extend generic quantum-mechanical Hamiltonians to higher dimensions in such a way that eigenstates of the original Hamiltonian are obtained as projections of the Hamiltonian in superspace, which we call the super Hamiltonian. We apply the super Hamiltonian formalism to a simple, yet realistic one-dimensional quantum particle in a quasiperiodic potential without the tight-binding approximation, and obtain continuously labelled eigenstates of the system corresponding to a continuous spectrum. All states corresponding to the continuum are quasiperiodic. We also obtain the Green's functions for continuum states in closed form and, from them, the density of states and local density of states, and scattering states off defects and impurities. The closed form of this one-dimensional Green's function is equally valid for any continuum state in any one-dimensional single-particle quantum system admitting continuous spectrum. With the basis set we use, which is periodic in superspace, and therefore quasiperiodic in physical space, we find that Anderson-localised states are also quasiperiodic if distributional solutions are admitted, but circumvent this difficulty by generalising the superspace method to open boundary conditions (cont'd).

## Full text

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## Figures

6 figures with captions in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/1908.03214/full.md

## References

39 references — full list in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/1908.03214/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/1908.03214