By using complex-variable methods one can extend conventional Hermitian quantum theories into the complex domain. The result is a huge and exciting new class of non-Hermitian parity-time-symmetric (PT-symmetric) theories that still obey the fundamental laws of quantum mechanics. These new theories have remarkable physical properties, which are currently under intense study by theorists and experimentalists. Many theoretical predictions have been verified in recent beautiful laboratory experiments. 

Carl M. Bender is the Wilfred R. and Ann Lee Konneker Distinguished Professor of Physics at Washington University in St. Louis. He is also Joint Professor of Physics, University of Heidelberg; Visiting Professor of Applied Mathematics and Mathematical Physics, Imperial College, London; Fellow and Visiting Professor of Physics at King's College London; Alexander von Humboldt