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For a conjugate-linear operator the definition of adjoint needs to be adjusted in order to compensate for the complex conjugation. An adjoint operator of the conjugate-linear operator A on a complex Hilbert space H is an conjugate-linear operator A ∗ : H → H with the property:
In linear algebra, the adjugate or classical adjoint of a square matrix A, adj(A), is the transpose of its cofactor matrix. [1] [2] It is occasionally known as adjunct matrix, [3] [4] or "adjoint", [5] though that normally refers to a different concept, the adjoint operator which for a matrix is the conjugate transpose.
In practical terms, having an essentially self-adjoint operator is almost as good as having a self-adjoint operator, since we merely need to take the closure to obtain a self-adjoint operator. In physics, the term Hermitian refers to symmetric as well as self-adjoint operators alike. The subtle difference between the two is generally overlooked.
In mathematics, a Hermitian matrix (or self-adjoint matrix) is a complex square matrix that is equal to its own conjugate transpose—that is, the element in the i-th row and j-th column is equal to the complex conjugate of the element in the j-th row and i-th column, for all indices i and j: = ¯
Several of these share a similar formalism: if A is adjoint to B, then there is typically some formula of the type (Ax, y) = (x, By). Specifically, adjoint or adjunction may mean: Adjoint of a linear map, also called its transpose in case of matrices; Hermitian adjoint (adjoint of a linear operator) in functional analysis
Even more general is the concept of adjoint operator for operators on (possibly infinite-dimensional) complex Hilbert spaces. All this is subsumed by the *-operations of C*-algebras . One may also define a conjugation for quaternions and split-quaternions : the conjugate of a + b i + c j + d k {\textstyle a+bi+cj+dk} is a − b i − c j − d ...
The momentum operator can be described as a symmetric (i.e. Hermitian), unbounded operator acting on a dense subspace of the quantum state space. If the operator acts on a (normalizable) quantum state then the operator is self-adjoint. In physics the term Hermitian often refers to both symmetric and self-adjoint operators. [7] [8]
The Stone–von Neumann theorem generalizes Stone's theorem to a pair of self-adjoint operators, (,), satisfying the canonical commutation relation, and shows that these are all unitarily equivalent to the position operator and momentum operator on ().