Complex modes in unstable quadratic bosonic forms

Abstract

We discuss the necessity of using non-standard boson operators for diagonalizing quadratic bosonic forms which are not positive definite and its convenience for describing the temporal evolution of the system. Such operators correspond to non-hermitian coordinates and momenta and are associated with complex frequencies. As application, we examine a bosonic version of a BCS-like pairing Hamiltonian, which, in contrast with the fermionic case, is stable just for limited values of the gap parameter and requires the use of the present extended treatment for a general diagonal representation. The dynamical stability of such forms and the occurrence of non-diagonalizable cases are also discussed.