Stationary scattering theory for unitary operators with an application to quantum walks

Abstract

We present a general account on the stationary scattering theory for unitary operators in a two-Hilbert spaces setting. For unitary operators $U_0,U$ in Hilbert spaces ${\cal H}_0,{\cal H}$ and for an identification operator $J:{\cal H}_0\to{\cal H}$, we give the definitions and collect properties of the stationary wave operators, the strong wave operators, the scattering operator and the scattering matrix for the triple $(U,U_0,J)$. In particular, we exhibit conditions under which the stationary wave operators and the strong wave operators exist and coincide, and we derive representation formulas for the stationary wave operators and the scattering matrix. As an application, we show that these representation formulas are satisfied for a class of anisotropic quantum walks recently introduced in the literature.