The Analytic Eigenvalue Structure of the 1+1 Dirac Oscillator

Abstract

We study the analytic structure for the eigenvalues of the one-dimensional Dirac oscillator, by analytically continuing its frequency on the complex plane. A twofold Riemann surface is found, connecting the two states of a pair of particle and antiparticle. One can, at least in principle, accomplish the transition from a positive energy state to its antiparticle state by moving the frequency continuously on the complex plane, without changing the Hamiltonian after transition. This result provides a visual explanation for the absence of a negative energy state with the quantum number n = 0.