Generation of new exactly solvable potentials

admitting Quasinormal modes

Dr. T. K. Jana1
Department of Mathematics
R.S.Mahavidyalaya, Ghatal 721212, India

1
e-mail : tapasisi@gmail.com

1
Generation of new exactly...Quasinormal modes T. K. Jana 2

0.1 Introduction
The study of quasinormal modes (QNM) began with the work of Vishveshwara
[1] and Press [2] in early 1970′ s. They found that black holes emit gravitational
radiation at specific frequencies and this leads to the direct identification of
their existence. It was also known that linearized gravitational waves prop-
agating on the Kerr or Schwarzschild background can be described by the
Klein-Gordon(KG) equation [4, 5, 3]:
h i
∂t2 − ∂x2 + V (x) ψ(x, t) = 0 (1)

where x is a radial coordinate, ψ is the radial part of a combination of the

metric functions representing the gravitational wave. The potential V(x) de-
scribes the scattering of the gravitational waves by the background geometry.
During the past decades QNMs have been studied widely due to various ap-
plications in the study of black holes [4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15]. QNM
are basically discrete complex frequency solutions of such real potentials V(x)
and are associated with outgoing wave like behaviour at spatial infinity.

However as in the case of bound states or normal modes (NM) there are
only a few potentials admitting either the bound states (NM) or the QNMs
which are exactly solvable. In the case of NMs or scattering problems a num-
ber of methods based on intertwining technique e.g, Darboux algorithm [17],
supersymmetric quantum mechanics (SUSYQM) [18, 19] etc. have been used
successfully to construct new solvable potentials. Exactly solvable QNMs have
also been studied from the point of view of intertwining (first order) [9] and
SUSY [10, 11, 12]. Recently quasi exactly solvable QNMs have also been found
[16]. However the class of exactly/quasi exactly solvable potentials admitting
Generation of new exactly...Quasinormal modes T. K. Jana 3

QNMs is still rather small (in fact in most cases QNM frequencies have to be
determined numerically or other approximating techniques such as the WKB
method, phase integral method etc.).

In view of the fact the QNM wave functions behave differently compared
to NM wave functions (for example, wave functions diverging at both or one
infinity), there is apriory no reason to assume that the methods for the con-
struction of isospectral potentials based on intertwining applicable to NMs
are also readily applicable to QNMs. Here our objective is to examine this
point [20]. In particular, we shall examine the possibility of applying a simple
method which was previously used to construct isospectral potentials [21] to
potentials admitting QNMs.

On the other hand usually the intertwining operators are constructed using
first order differential operators. However in recent years intertwining opera-
tors have been generalized to higher orders [22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30,
31, 33, 34, 35] and this has opened up new possibilities to construct a whole
new class of potentials having nonlinear symmetry. In particular use of higher
order intertwining operator or higher order Darboux algorithm leads to nonlin-
ear supersymmetry [28, 36, 37]. In this chapter we shall also examine whether
or not intertwining method based on higher order differential operators can
be applied to open systems [38]. For the sake of simplicity we shall confine
ourselves to second order intertwining operators (second order Darboux for-
malism) and it will be shown that the second order Darboux algorithm can
indeed be applied to models admitting QNMs although not exactly in the
same way as in the case of NMs. In particular we shall use the second order
Generation of new exactly...Quasinormal modes T. K. Jana 4

intertwining operator to the Pöschl-Teller potential to construct several new

potentials admitting QNM solutions. It will also be shown that such potentials
may be related to the Pöschl-Teller potential through second order SUSY.

0.2 Construction of isospectral partner poten-

tial using first order supersymmetry
Two Hamiltonians H− and H+ are said to be intertwined by an operator A if

AH− = H+ A (2)

Clearly if ψ is an eigenfunction of H− with eigenvalue E then Aψ is an eigen-

function of H+ with the same eigenvalue provided Aψ satisfies required bound-
ary conditions.
In this section we present a general method to construct new exactly solvable
potentials using first order SUSY formalism [18, 21]. Following section 2.2 of
chapter 2, we consider first order intertwinners of the form

d d
A= + w(x), , A† = − + w(x) (3)
dx dx

Also for unbroken supersymmetry the spectrum and eigenfunctions of the part-
ners are given by
E0− = 0, E(n+1)− = En+ (4)
R
ψ0− ∝ e− wdx
, ψ(n+1)− ∝ A† ψn+ (5)

ψn+ ∝ Aψ(n+1)− (6)

We note that the superpotential U± (x) = w 2 (x) ± w ′(x) are isospectral

except for the lowest state of U− (x). Here our approach would be to start with
Generation of new exactly...Quasinormal modes T. K. Jana 5

an exactly solvable potential V (x) such that U+ (x) = V (x) + ξ (where ξ is

some constant) and find a partner potential of U+ other than U− [21]. Let us
now consider
W (x) = w(x) + f (x) (7)

Therefore the partner potentials corresponding to the superpotential (7) are

given by

V± (x) = W 2 (x) ± W ′ (x) = w 2(x) ± w ′(x) + f 2 (x) + 2w(x)f (x) ± f ′ (x) (8)

We now impose on f(x) the condition that it obeys the following generalized
Riccati equation
f 2 (x) + 2w(x)f (x) + f ′ (x) = b (9)

where b is an arbitrary real constant. Then from (8) we obtain

V+ (x) = w 2 (x) + w ′ (x) + b = U+ (x) + b = V (x) + b + ξ (10)

Thus V+ (x) has the same wave functions and spectrum (except for an additive
u′ (x)
constant) as V (x). Now putting f (x) = u(x)
, we obtain from (9)

u′′(x) + 2w(x)u′(x) − bu(x) = 0 (11)

Then the partner potential V− (x) is found to be

u′ (x) u′ (x)
!
2 ′
V− (x) = w (x) − w (x) + 2 2w(x) + −b (12)
u(x) u(x)

Thus from (10) and (12) it follows that the potentials V̂+ (x) = V+ (x)−(b+ξ) =
V (x) and V̂− (x) = V− (x) − (b + ξ) are isospectral except for an additional state
in V̂− (x).
Generation of new exactly...Quasinormal modes T. K. Jana 6

0.3 The Klein-Gordon equation and QNM cri-

terion
Let us now consider the eigenvalue equation corresponding to the KG equation
(1) :
d2
[− + V (x)]ψn (x) = ωn2 ψn (x) (13)
dx2
The QNMs of the equation (13) are defined as discrete complex frequency
solutions of real potentials and are characterised by the fact that they are either
(1) increasing at both ends (II) (2) increasing at one end and decreasing at the
other (ID,DI) [11, 12, 14, 15] . The wave functions decreasing at both ends
(DD) correspond to bound states or NMs. The states of eq.(13) corresponding
to an eigenfrequency ωn satisfy the outgoing wave boundary condition

ψn (x) ∝ eiωn |x| , |x| → ∞ (14)

In general the frequencies ωn in (13) are of the form ωn = an + ibn . However, if

Re(ωn ) 6= 0, then the superpotential W (x) becomes complex and consequently
one of the partner potentials is necessarily complex. Since we are interested
in real potentials only, we shall consider the case Re(ωn ) = 0. Note that
this implies that ωn2 is real and negative. This leads to two possibilties :
(1) Im(ωn ) > 0, (2) Im(ωn ) < 0. If Im(ωn ) > 0 then from Eq. (14) it follows
that ψn → 0, f or |x| → ∞, i.e ψn corresponds to a bound state. On the other
hand if Im(ωn ) < 0, then ψn is increasing at both ends and corresponds to a
QNM. Thus we have to consider the case bn < 0.
Generation of new exactly...Quasinormal modes T. K. Jana 7

0.4 New exactly solvable potentials admitting

QNMs
We shall now demonstrate with two examples how to construct new exactly
solvable potentials admitting QNMs in the context of KG equation. Here, as
discussed in section 3.2 we shall first consider a solvable potential admitting
QNM solutions and then construct an isospectral partner by using the SUSY
formalism.
Example 0.4.1
There are a number of potentials which exhibit QNMs. A potential in this
category is the inverted Pöschl-Teller potential. This potential is used as a
good approximation in the study of Schwarzschild black hole [14, 15] and it is
given by
V (x) = νsech2 x (15)

The solutions of the KG Eq. (13) for the above potential are given by [14]

1
ωn± = ±i(n + ∓ q) (16)
2
!
± 1 + tanhx
ψn± = (sechx) −iωn
2 F1 −n, 2A± − n − 1, A± − n, (17)
2
where 2 F1 (α, β, γ, z) denotes the hypergeometric function [?] and

1
A± = 2
±q
q
1 (18)
q = 4
−ν
ν = −A± (A± − 1)

Since the QNM wave functions satisfy outgoing wave boundary condition,
Im(ωn ) < 0 and so we shall consider only the negative sign in (16). Also
an important property of the potential (15) is that it is invariant under the
Generation of new exactly...Quasinormal modes T. K. Jana 8

substituion A+ → A− and consequently it has two sets of QNM solutions

given by (17). To use the SUSY formalism we now choose the superpotential
corresponding to (15) to be
u′ (x)
W (x) = A± tanhx + (19)
u(x)
Then choosing ξ = A2± we get from (12)

u′ (x) u′ (x)
!
2
V̂− (x) = −A± (A± + 1)sech (x) + 2 2A± tanhx + − 2b (20)
u(x) u(x)
Here the function u(x) satisfies the equation (11) with w(x) = A± tanhx i.e,

u′′ (x) + 2A± tanhx u′ (x) − bu(x) = 0 (21)

The solution of the above equation is given by

u(x) = αu1(x) + βu2(x) (22)

where α and β are arbitrary constants and

√ 2 √ 2
−A± b+A± −A± b+A
u1 (x) = (coshx) PA± −1 (tanhx) , u2 (x) = (coshx) QA± −1 ± (tanhx),
(23)
Pmn , Qnm being associated Legendre functions of the first and second kind [?].
Now using (4) and (5) we can determine the spectrum and eigenfunctions of
V̂− (x). It may be seen that the new potential (20) is not invariant under the
substitution A+ → A− and is not of the shape invariant category. Thus it has
only one set of QNM solutions which it shares with V̂+ (x).
In order to be more specific let us construct the new potential using A+ .
Then the frequencies and the corresponding eigenfunctions of V̂− (x) can be
obtained using the relations (4), (5), (6) and V̂− (x) = V− (x) − (b + A2+ ) as
q
+ + +
ω0− = i b + A2+ , ω(n+1)− = ωn+ (= ωn+ ) (24)
Generation of new exactly...Quasinormal modes T. K. Jana 9

+
+ (sechx)A
ψ0− = u(x)
(25)
u′ (x)
 
+ d
ψ(n+1)− = A† ψn+
+
= − dx + A+ tanhx + u(x)
+
ψn+
+
where ψn+ = ψn+ (Here we have used the following convention: the sign of the
superscript and subscript has used according as the sign of the parameter A
and the the sign of the potential respectively) . We recall that (ωn± )2 < 0 and
1
this can be ensured if we choose 0 < ν < 4
or ν < 0. Also to avoid any new
u′
singularity in the new potential, ( u ) must be nonsingular i.e, u(x) is to be
nodeless. This can be done by suitably choosing b and A+ .

ß
V_HxL
x
-3 -2 -1 1 2 3 4
-0.25
-0.5
-0.75
-1
-1.25
-1.5
-1.75

Fig. 1: Graph of V̂− (x) for A+ = 0.8, b = 0.2.

Let us for example, choose ν = 0.16, (so that A+ = 0.8 and A− = 0.2)
and b = 0.2. In this case the potential (15) does not support any NM and all
the solutions correspond to QNMs. We now take for simplicity β = 0. For
these parameter values, u(x) is nodeless and so V̂− (x) is nonsingular. We have
plotted V̂− (x) in Fig.1 and from Fig.1 it is seen that the new potential sup-
ports at least one NM. Now using (25) we have plotted several wave functions
+
of the new potential in Fig.2. From Fig.2 it is seen that ψ0− (the ground
+
√
state of V̂− (x) with frequency ω0− = i 0.84) is a NM while the others are
+
QNMs with frequencies ω(n+1)− = −i(n + 0.2), n = 0, 1. Also from Fig.2 it is
Generation of new exactly...Quasinormal modes T. K. Jana 10

observed that the even states are nodeless and the odd states have one node.
Comparing with Fig.3 we find that the nodal structure of the wave functions
+ +
ψn− is similar to ψn+ except that the nodes of the former are located away
from the origin. It is clear that qualitatively similar results can be obtained if
we started with A− .

Ψ+0-

Ψ+1-

ΨHxL Ψ+2-
4
3
2
1
x
-4 -2 2 4
-1
-2
-3

+ + +
Fig. 2: Graph of ψ0− (x), ψ1− (x) and ψ2− (x) for A+ = 0.8, b = 0.2.

Ψ+0

ΨHxL Ψ+1
6
4
2
x
-4 -2 2 4
-2
-4
-6

Fig. 3: Graph of ψ0+ (x) and ψ1+ (x) for A+ = 0.8, b = 0.2.
Generation of new exactly...Quasinormal modes T. K. Jana 11

Example 0.4.2
Here we consider Rosen-Morse II potential given by

V (x) = νsech2 x + 2Btanhx (26)

The frequencies and eigenfunctions of this potential are well known and are
given by [18, 19]
v
1 B2
u
ωn± = ±i
u
t(n + ∓ q)2 + (27)
2 (n + 12 ∓ q)2

s± s± s± s±
1 2 ( 1 , 2 )
ψn± = (1 − tanhx) 2 (1 + tanhx) 2 Pn 2 2
(tanhx) (28)

where q and A± are given as in Eq. (18) and

B B
s±
1 = A± − n − 1 + ; s±
2 = A± − n − 1 − (29)
A± − n − 1 A± − n − 1

where as before we consider only the (−) sign in (27). To use the SUSY
formalism we now consider the superpotential

B u′ (x)
W (x) = A± tanhx + + (30)
A± u(x)
B
where u(x) satisfies (11) with w(x) = A± tanhx + A±
.
B
Then choosing ξ = (A2± + A2±
) the new potential is found to be

u′ (x) 2B u′ (x)
!
2
V̂− (x) = −A± (A± +1)sech (x)+2Btanhx+2 2A± tanhx + + −2b
u(x) A± u(x)
(31)
In this case u(x) is given by

u(x) = αu1(x) + βu2(x) (32)

Generation of new exactly...Quasinormal modes T. K. Jana 12

where
 k  −r
1+tanhx 2
u1 (x) = 1−tanhx 1−tanhx 2 F1 (r, r − 2A± + 1, r − p + 1, 1−tanhx
2
)

 k  −p
1+tanhx 2
u2 (x) = 1−tanhx 1−tanhx 2 F1 (p, p − 2A± + 1, p − r + 1, 1−tanhx
2
)
(33)
where p, r and k are given by
s 2
A2± +B 1 A2± +B
p = k+ 2A±
+ 2 A±
+b

s 2
r = k+
A2± +B
− 1 A2± +B
+b (34)
2A± 2 A±

B
4k 2 − 4(A± − A±
)k −b=0

We note that in this case also the starting potential (26) invariant under the
substitution A+ → A− and so has two sets of QNM solutions. However the
new potential (31) is non shape invariant and has only one set of QNM solu-
tion which coincides with one of V̂+ (x). Thus if we start with A+ , then the
frequencies and eigenfunctions of the new potential V̂− (x) are given by
v
B2
u
+ + +
u
ω(n+1)− = ωn+ , ω0− = itb + A2 + + (35)
A2+

u′ (x)
!
+ d B
ψ(n+1)− = A† ψn+
+
= − + A+ tanhx + + +
ψn+
dx A+ u(x)
B (36)
x
−
+ e A+ (sechx)A+
ψ0− =
u(x)
It follows that similar result can be obtained if we start with A− . To get a
concrete example, let us choose as before ν = 0.16 (so that A+ = 0.8 and
A− = 0.2), b = 0.1 and B = 0.2. Then u(x) is nodeless and consequently
Generation of new exactly...Quasinormal modes T. K. Jana 13

V̂− (x) is nonsingular. In Fig.4 we plot V̂− (x) and it can be seen that this
potential supports at least one NM.
In Fig.5 we have plotted a number of wave functions and from Fig.5 it can
ß
V- HxL

0.25
x
-4 -2 2 4
-0.25
-0.5
-0.75
-1
-1.25

Fig. 4: Graph of V̂− (x) for A+ = 0.8, b = 0.1, B = 0.2.

+ +
√
be seen that ψ0− is a NM with frequency ω0− = i .8025 while the others
q
+ 0.04
are QNMs with frequency ω(n+1)− = −i (n + 0.2)2 + (n+0.2)2
,n = 0, 1. Also,
similar to the previous example, the odd states have one node away from the
the origin while the even states are nodeless. We conclude by comparing with
+
Fig.6 that the nodal structure of the wave functions ψn− remains unaltered.

Ψ+0-

Ψ+1-

ΨHxL Ψ+2-
5
4
3
2
1
x
-4 -2 2 4
-1
-2
-3

+ + +
Fig. 5: Graph of ψ0− (x), ψ1− (x) and ψ2− (x) for A+ = 0.8, b = 0.1, B = 0.2.
Generation of new exactly...Quasinormal modes T. K. Jana 14

Ψ+0

ΨHxL Ψ+1
10
7.5
5
2.5
x
-3 -2 -1 1 2 3
-2.5
-5
-7.5

Fig. 6: Graph of ψ0+ (x) and ψ1+ (x) for A+ = 0.8, b = 0.1, B = 0.2.

0.5 Second order supersymmetry formalism

In this section we consider A to be a second order differential operator of the
form [26, 27]

d2 d
A = + β(x) + γ(β)
dx2 dx

d
β(x) = − log Wi,j (x) (37)
dx

!2 !2
β ′′ β′ β′ β2 ωi2 − ωj2
γ(β) = − + + + −
2β 2β 2 4 2β

where ψi and ψj are eigenfunctions of H0 corresponding to the eigenvalues ωi2

and ωj2 and Wi,j = (ψi ψj′ − ψi′ ψj ) is the corresponding Wronskian.
where
d2
H0 = − + V0 (x) (38)
dx2
Then from the intertwining condition (2) the isospectral partner Hamiltonian
can be obtained as
d2
H2 = − + V2 (x) (39)
dx2
Generation of new exactly...Quasinormal modes T. K. Jana 15

where V2 (x) is given by

d2
V2 (x) = V0 (x) − 2 log Wi,j (x) (40)
dx2

The wave functions ψi (x) and φi (x) corresponding to V0 (x) and V2 (x) are
related by [31, 32]
 
 

 ψi ψj ψk 

1  
φk (x) = Aψk (x) = ψi′ ψj′ ψk′ , i, j 6= k (41)
 
Wi,j (x)

 
 

 ψi′′ ψj′′ ψk′′ 


The eigenfunctions obtained from ψi and ψj are given by [31, 32]

ψi (x) ψj (x)
f (x) ∝ , g(x) ∝ (42)
Wi,j (x) Wi,j (x)

0.5.1 Polynomial supersymmetry

In first order SUSY, the anticommutator {Q, Q† } of the supercharges is a

linear function of the Hamiltonian. On the other hand in higher order SUSY,
{Q, Q† } is a nonlinear function of the Hamiltonian. It will be shown here that
the Hamiltonians H0 and H2 are related by second order SUSY. To this end
we define the supercharges Q and Q† as follows:
   
†
0 0  0 A 
Q= , Q† =  (43)
 
 
A 0 0 0

where the operator A is given by (37).

Clearly the supercharges Q and Q† are nilpotent. We now define a super
Hamiltonian H of the form
 
H0 0 
H= (44)


0 H2
Generation of new exactly...Quasinormal modes T. K. Jana 16

It can be easily verified that Q, Q† and H satisfy the following relations :

[Q, H] = [Q† , H] = 0 (45)

Then the anticommutator of the supercharges Q and Q† is given by a second

order polynomial in H :
 
† !2
†  A A 0 δ
Hss = {Q, Q } =  = H+ − cI (46)

2

0 AA†

where I is the 2 × 2 unit matrix and

!2
ωi2 − ωj2
δ= −(ωi2 + ωj2 ) , c= (47)
2
Also we have
[Q, Hss ] = [Q† , Hss ] = 0 (48)

The relations (46) and (48) constitute a polynomial SUSY algebra of second
order.

0.6 New exactly solvable potentials admitting

QNM solutions via second order super-
symmetry
We know that in the case of normal modes, the new potential would be free of
any new singularities if the Wronskian Wi,j (x) is nodeless. This in turn requires
that the Wronskian be constructed with the help of consecutive eigenfunctions
(i.e, j = i + 1). Also, the eigenfunctions f (x), g(x) in (42) are not acceptable
because they do not satisfy the boundary conditions for the normal modes
and in any case they are not SUSY partners of the corresponding states in
Generation of new exactly...Quasinormal modes T. K. Jana 17

the original potential. Thus in the case of normal modes the spectrum of the
new potential is exactly the same as the starting potential except for the levels
used in the construction of the Wronskian. However we shall find that not all
of these results always hold in the case of QNMs.
Let us consider the KG Eq. (13) with the same potential (15), assuming
ν = −A± (A± + 1) (for the adaptation of the above formalism), the solutions
are found to be [8, 14, 15]
s
1 1 1
ωn± = −i(n − A± ), A± = − ± −ν =− ±q (49)
2 4 2
± −n) 1 1 1 + tanhx
ψn± (x) = (sechx)(A 2 F1 ( + q − iωn± , − q − iωn± , 1 − iωn± , ) (50)
2 2 2
Where ωn± denotes the eigen frequencies corresponding to A± respectively. We
note that the behaviour of the wave functions (50) i.e, whether they represent
a NM or QNM depends on the value of the parameter ν. For ν ∈ (0, 1/4)
i.e, A+ ∈ (−1/2, 0), A− ∈ (−1, −1/2), the wave functions represent outgoing
waves and are of the type (II). For ν < 0 (i.e, A+ > 0, A− < 0) then the wave
functions represent NMs when n < A+ while for n > A+ they are QNMs.
On the other hand the wave functions are always QNMs corresponding to
ωn− . It may be noted that for the QNMs the wave functions (50) for even n
are nodeless while those for odd n have exactly one node at the origin. This
behaviour of the wave functions is quite different from those occurring in the
case of NMs. Using the procedure mentioned above we shall now construct
new exactly solvable potentials admitting QNM solutions.
Generation of new exactly...Quasinormal modes T. K. Jana 18

0.6.1 Construction of isospectral partner potential us-

ing NMs

Case 1. V0 with two NMs: In order to apply the second order intertwining
approach one may start with a potential V0 (x) admitting (1) at least two NMs
and the rest QNMs or (2) only QNMs. We begin with the first possibility.
Thus we consider ν = −5.04, in this case we obtain from (49) A± = 1.8, −2.8
so there exist two NMs (since the number of bound states ‘n’ depend on the
value of A+ and are given by n < A+ [18]). Thus the NMs correspond to
ω0+ = 1.8i, ω1+ = 0.8i and are given by

+ + −1) 1 + tanhx
ψ0+ (x) = (sech x)A , ψ1+ (x) = (sech x)(A + +
2 F1 (2A , −1, A , )
2
(51)
The QNMs in this case correspond to the frequencies ωn+ , n = 2, 3, ... and are
given by ψn+ (x). Also for ωn− , n = 0, 1, 2, ... there is another set of QNMs and
the corresponding wave functions are given by ψn− (x). In this case A− < 0 and
consequently there is no NM.

Let us construct a potential isospectral to (15) using the NM frequencies ω0+

and ω1+ . Then from (50) the Wronskian W0,1
+
is found to be

+ + −1
W0,1 = −(sechx)2A (52)

+
Clearly W0,1 does not have a zero. In this case the new potential V2+ (x) is free
of singularities and is given by

d2
V2+ (x) +
= V (x) − 2 2 log W0,1 (x) = −(1 − A+ )(2 − A+ )sech2 x (53)
dx

Using the value of A+ it is easy to see that the new potential V2+ (x) in (53)
does not support any bound state but only QNMs. This is also reflected by
Generation of new exactly...Quasinormal modes T. K. Jana 19

the explicit expressions for the wave functions. Using (42) we find
+) +
f + (x) = (sechx)(1−A , g + (x) = −(sechx)−A tanhx (54)

From (54) it follows that the above wave functions are QNMs corresponding to
−ω1+ and −ω0+ respectively. Note that these two QNMs are new and were not
present in the original potential. This in fact is where the behaviour of the new
potential is different from the usual case. In the case of potentials supporting
only NMs the wave functions f + (x), g + (x) obtained through (42) do not have
acceptable behaviour. However in the present case both these wave functions
become QNMs instead of NMs and they have acceptable behaviour at ±∞
as can be seen from (54) as well as from Fig.7. The other wave functions
φ+ + +
n (x), n = 2, 3, ... corresponding to QNM frequencies ωn = −i(n − A ) can

be obtained using (41) and are given by

+ −n)
φ+
n (x) = (sechx)
(A
[(n − 1)n Fn tanh2 x

+c1 (2n − 3) Fn+1 sech2 x tanhx (55)

+ c1 c2 Fn+2 sech4 x] , n = 2, 3, ...

where
n(2A+ − n + 1) (−n + 1)(2A+ − n + 2)
c1 = − , c2 =
2(A+ − n + 1) 2(A+ − n + 2)

Fn = 2 F1 (−n, 2A
+
− n + 1, A+ − n + 1, 1+tanhx
2
)
(56)

Fn+1 = 2 F1 (−n + 1, 2A+ − n + 2, A+ − n + 2, 1+tanhx

2
)

Fn+2 = 2 F1 (−n + 2, 2A+ − n + 3, A+ − n + 3, 1+tanhx

2
)
Generation of new exactly...Quasinormal modes T. K. Jana 20

To see the nature of the wave functions (55) we have plotted φ+

2 (x) and

φ+
3 (x) in Fig.7. From Fig.7 it can be seen that these wave functions are

indeed QNMs and for even n they do not have nodes while for odd n they
have one node at the origin. We would like to point out that the new potential
V2 (x) has two more QNMs than V (x). Thus except for two additional QNMs,
the QNM frequencies ωn+ is common to both V (x) and V2+ (x). We now examine
the second set of solutions corresponding to ωn− . It can be shown by direct
calculation that the new potential (53) also possess this set of solutions.

f+

g+

Φ+2
Wavefunction
Φ+3
30

20

10

x
-4 -2 2 4
-10

-20

Fig. 7: Graph of f + (x), g + (x), φ+ + +

2 (x) and φ3 (x) for A = 1.8.

Case 2. V0 (x) with three NMs: Let us now consider the potential (15)
supporting three NMs. A convenient choice of the parameter is ν = −6.2 so
that A+ = 2.04, A− = −3.04. We shall now construct the new potential using
the NM frequencies ω1+ = 1.04i and ω2+ = 0.04i. The Wronskian W1,2
+
is found
to be
+
+ (sechx)2A −1 +
W1,2 (x) = [A − 2 − (A+ − 1)cosh2x] (57)
2(A+ − 1)
Generation of new exactly...Quasinormal modes T. K. Jana 21

Now using (40) we obtain

(A+ − 2)cosh2x − (A+ − 1)

V2+ (x) = −(A+ − 1)(A+ − 2)sech2 x + 8(A+ − 1)
[(A+ − 1)cosh2x − (A+ − 2)]2
(58)
To get an idea of the potential, we have plotted V2+ (x) in Fig.8. From Fig.8,
it is clear that V2 (x) supports at least one NM. Next to examine the wave
functions we first consider f + (x) and g + (x). From the relation (42) we obtain
+
+ 2(A+ − 1)(sechx)−A tanhx
f (x) = +
(A − 1)cosh2x − (A+ − 2)
(59)
−(A+ +1)
(sechx) [1 − (2A+ − 1)tanh2 x]
g + (x) =
(A+ − 1)cosh2x − (A+ − 2)

V2+ HxL
x
-3 -2 -1 1 2 3

-2

-4

-6

-8

Fig. 8: Graph of V2+ (x) for A+ = 2.04.

Also from (41) it follows that

+
4(A+ − 1)(sechx)(A −2)
φ+
0 (x) = (60)
(A+ − 1)cosh2x + A+ − 2

From (59) it follows that f + (x) and g + (x) are new QNMs corresponding to
frequencies −ω2+ = −0.04i and −ω1+ = −1.04i respectively. The former has one
node the later has two nodes. The nodal structure of the QNM wave functions
Generation of new exactly...Quasinormal modes T. K. Jana 22

are different from those obtained earlier. The reason for this is that since we
+
started with the first and second excited state NMs and the Wronskian W1,2 is
+
nodeless, the behaviour of the original wave functions ψ1,2 (x) are retained by
f + (x) and g + (x). However, φ+ +
0 (x) is a NM at ω0 = 2.04i and it does not have

a node because ψ0+ (x) does not have one. Also other QNM wave functions
φ+
n (x), n = 3, 4, ... have either no mode or one mode. In Fig.9 we have plotted

the some of the wave functions. We also note that although the potential in
(53) is of a similar nature as (15), the potential (58) is of a completely different
type. In particular it is a non shape invariant potential. Finally we discuss
the possibility of a second set of solutions for the potential (58). We recall
that the existence of two sets of solutions for the potential (15) (or (53)) was
due to the fact that the parameter ν could be expressed as a product of two
different parameters A± . However in the case of (58) the entire potential can
not be expressed in terms of two distinct parameters because of the presence of
the second term. Consequently the potential (58) has only one set of solution
mentioned above.

f+

g+

Φ+0
Wavefunction
Φ+3

6
4
2
x
-2 -1 1 2
-2
-4
-6

Fig. 9: Graph of f + (x), g + (x), φ+ + +

0 (x) and φ3 (x) for A = 2.04.
Generation of new exactly...Quasinormal modes T. K. Jana 23

0.6.2 Construction of isospectral partner potential us-

ing QNMs

Case 1. Potential based on consecutive QNMs: Here we shall construct

isospectral partner of a potential which has only QNMs. Thus we consider
ν = 0.24 and in this case A± = −0.4, −0.6. We consider the A+ sector and
begin with the frequencies ω0+ and ω1+ . In this case the expression for the
+
Wronskian W0,1 , the new potential V2+ (x) and the QNM wave functions can
be derived from the expressions (52), (53) and (55) respectively except that we
now have to use a different parameter value. Thus the new potential is given
by
V2 (x) = −3.36 sech2 x (61)

For this potential the NMs corresponding to −ω0+ = 0.4i and −ω1+ = 1.4i are
given respectively by

f + = (sechx)1.4 , g + = (sechx)0.4 tanhx (62)

Clearly these NMs are not SUSY partner of any levels in H0 . The QNMs

f+

g+

Φ+2
Wavefunction
Φ+3
4

x
-6 -4 -2 2 4 6

-2

-4

Fig. 10: Graph of f + (x), g + (x), φ+ + +

2 (x) and φ3 (x) for A = −0.4.
Generation of new exactly...Quasinormal modes T. K. Jana 24

are correspond to ωn+ = −i(n + 0.4), n = 2, 3, ... and are given by (55) with
A+ = −0.4. We have plotted some of the wave functions in Fig.10. From the
Fig.10 we find that the wave functions f + (x) and g + (x) correspond to NMs
and the other wave functions represent QNMs which are the SUSY partners
of the QNMs in H0 . We note that as in (53) the potential (61) has two sets of
QNMs, the second of which corresponds to ωn− .

Case 2. Potential based on non consecutive QNMs: Here we shall con-

sider the previous parameter values (i.e, A+ = −0.4) and construct the new
potential using the non consecutive levels ω0+ and ω3+ . In this case the Wron-
skian is given by
+
+ (sechx)(2A −3)
W0,3 = [(9 − 6A+ )tanh2 x + 3] (63)
2(A+ − 2)

It can be shown that the Wronskian (63) is nodeless. Now using the (40) the

V+2 HxL
x
-2 -1 1 2

-5

-10

-15

-20

Fig. 11: Graph of V2+ (x) for A+ = −0.4.

new potential is found to be

F (x)
V2+ (x) = (64)
G(x)
Generation of new exactly...Quasinormal modes T. K. Jana 25

where

F (x) = (A+ − 2)[2(A+ (A+ − 2)(3A+ − 7) − 2A+ (A+ − 1)(A+ − 4) cosh2x

− (3 − 2A+ )2 (A+ − 1) sech2 x]
G(x) = [1 − A+ + (A+ − 2) cosh2x]2
(65)
The potential (64) is free of any singularity and is plotted in Fig.11. From
Fig.11 we find that it supports NMs. Also as explained earlier, this potential
has also one set of solution. We now consider the wave functions corresponding
to ψ0+ (x) and ψ3+ (x). These are obtained from (42) and are given by

2(A+ − 2) +
f + (x) = + 2
(sechx)(3−A )
(9 − 6A )tanh x + 3
(66)
(1 − 2A+ )tanh2 x + 3 +
g + (x) = + 2
sinhx (sechx)(1−A )
(9 − 6A )tanh x + 3

f+

g+

Φ+1
Wavefunction
Φ+2
2
1.5
1
0.5
x
-2 -1 1 2
-0.5
-1
-1.5
-2

Fig. 12: Graph of f + (x), g + (x), φ+ + +

1 (x) and φ2 (x) for A = −0.4.

The above wave functions (with zero and one node respectively) represent
NMs corresponding to −ω3+ = 3.4i and −ω0+ = 0.4i. The other wave functions
Generation of new exactly...Quasinormal modes T. K. Jana 26

can be obtained through (41). The two QNM wave functions lying between
ω0+ and ω3+ are φ+ + +
1,2 (x) corresponding to ω1 = −1.4i and ω2 = −2.4i. We

have plotted these wave functions in Fig.12. From Fig.12, it can be seen that
f + (x) and g + (x) are NMs while φ+
1,2 (x) are QNMs, with the later having two

nodes. The rest of the QNM wave functions corresponding to the frequencies
ωn+ = −(n + 0.4)i, n 6= 0, 3 are given by φ+
n (x) and they have either zero or one

node.

0.6.3 Polynomial algebra

Let us now obtain the polynomial algebra for the potentials (15) and (58). The
corresponding Hamiltonians H0 and H2 can be obtained from (38) and (39) as

d 2
2
H0 = − dx 2 − 6.2 sech x

d 2 0.3328 cosh2x − 8.6528 (67)

2
H2 = − dx 2 − 0.0416 sech x +
(1.04 cosh2x − 0.04)2

In this case δ
2
= 0.5416 and c = 0.2916 (since ω1+ = 1.04i and ω2+ = 0.04i ) so
that from (46) we get
!2
δ
†
Hss = {Q, Q } = H + − cI = (H + 0.5416)2 − 0.2916I (68)
2

where H is given by Eq. (44). In a similar fashion one may obtain Hss for the
other pair of potentials.

0.7 Conclusion
Here we have applied both the first order and second order SUSY based method
to obtain new exactly solvable potentials admitting QNM solutions. In the
case of first order SUSY the examples considered here the parameter b plays a
Generation of new exactly...Quasinormal modes T. K. Jana 27

particularly important role and we have found new poententials V̂− (x) which
are nonsingular in certain ranges of b. We feel it would be interesting to
investigate the new potentials in other ranges of the parameter as well. In
this context we note that obtaining a solution of Eq. (11) plays a crucial role
in finding new isospectral potentials. For starting potentials which are shape
invariant, solution of Eq. (11) can be found in terms of special functions [21].
But for more general potentials e.g, potentials of the Natanzon class [39] or
Ginnochio class [40], it is not apriory clear that a solution of Eq. (11) can be
found. However in view of the fact that such potentials (at least a subclass of
such potentials) can be treated using SUSY [41], we feel it would be interesting
to obtain solution of Eq. (11) for superpotentials corresponding to Natanzon
or Ginnochio class of potentials.
In the case of second order SUSY we have considered a number of possibilities
to construct the new potentials e.g, starting from NMs or starting from QNMs.
It has also been shown that the new potentials are related to the original one by
second order SUSY. We feel it would also be useful to analyze the construction
of potentials using various levels as well as for different values of the parameter
ν (for example, ν = half-integer) [10]. Finally we belive it would be interesting
to extend the present approach to other effective potentials appearing in the
study of Reissner-Nordström, Kerr black hole etc.
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