Abstract
In order to merge continuous and discrete analyses, a number of dynamic derivative equations have been put out in the process of developing a time-scale calculus. The investigations that incorporated combined dynamic derivatives have led to the proposal of improved approximation expressions for computational application. One such expression is the diamond alpha () derivative, which is defined as a linear combination of delta and nabla derivatives. Several dynamic equations and inequalities, as well as hybrid dynamic behavior—which does not occur in the real line or on discrete time scales—are analyzed using this combined concept. In this study, we consider a  Dirac system under boundary conditions on a uniform time scale. We examined some basic spectral properties of the problem we are considering, such as the simplicity, the reality of eigenvalues, orthogonality of eigenfunctions, and self adjointness of the operator. Finally, we construct an expression for the eigenfunction of the  Dirac boundary value problem (BVP) on a uniform time scale.
    1. Introduction
A time scale  is an arbitrary, non-empty, closed subset of . The time-scale theory was first stated by Hilger []. Hilger and Aulbach have obtained important results on this subject [,,]. As a result of the selection of two operators considered on a time scale,  and  operators, respectively, we encounter the concepts of delta and nabla calculations. A detailed theory of delta calculus was discussed by Bohner and Peterson [,]. The nabla theory can be found in the relevant references [,,,].  calculus, which is considered as a combination of delta and nabla calculi, was introduced by Sheng et al. []. They studied the basic properties of first and second order  derivatives, which are linear combinations of delta and nabla dynamic calculus on a time scale. Here, diamond calculus corresponds to delta calculus when  and nabla calculus when . On the other hand,  represents a central derivative formula on any uniform discrete time scales []. There are many studies related to  derivative on a time scale. In 2007, Rogers and Sheng studied the case of  and the  integral as a dynamic derivative on the time scale []. In this same year, Sheng studied an approach to the classical second-order derivative via  dynamical differentiation under the necessary conditions on a time scale []. In 2008, Ammi and Torres gave the basic properties of  derivatives and proved a generalized version of Jensen’s inequalities on a time scale via  integral []. In 2009, Mozyrska and Torres worked on a  exponential function and homogeneous linear dynamic  equations on a time scale []. In the same year, Mozyrska and Torres studied  integrals on time scales and proved their mean value theorem []. In another study, they discussed the results of generalized polynomials covering the definitions and properties of delta and nabla derivatives on a time scale and generalized these results using the concept of the  derivative []. In 2009, Ozkan and Kaymakcalan introduced double integral calculus for two-variable functions through partial  dynamic derivatives and the  dynamic integral []. In 2010, Ammi and Torres studied of the Hardy-type dynamic inequalities on a time scale via the  integral []. In 2015, Cruz, Martins, and Torres gave an improved version of the  integral and proved new versions of some important inequalities [].
To obtain the fundamental results for (5), we need to recall a few basic time-scale ideas. The following are the definitions of the forward and backward jump operators of , for 
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
If , t is a right-scattered point, a left-scattered point, an isolated (discrete) point, respectively. On the other hand, if  and ;  and  and ; t is called the right-dense, left-dense, and dense point, respectively. The graininess function  is defined as   if there is a maximum m point of ; otherwise, . The  function is called rd-continuous, provided that  has a left-sided limit at its right-dense points and at its left-scattered points, and  will be used to denote the collection of  rd-continuous functions. For all  if  holds, we say that function  is regressive [].
Let  and  be a function. For all  and for every s in a neighborhood U of point t, if there is a real number , such that
      
      
        
      
      
      
      
     is called the  (delta) derivative of f at point t. Furthermore, if  exists for every , we state that f is  differentiable. For all  and for every s in a neighborhood U of point , if there is a real number , such that
      
      
        
      
      
      
      
     is called the ∇ (delta) derivative of f at point t. Moreover, we declare that f∇ differentiable on  if  exists for each  [,,,].
Now, we will give the important definitions and theorems related to  calculus [,,,,,,,,,,,,], which we use as the basis for our study on a time scale.
Assume that  is differentiable in  and ∇ senses on a time scale . For , where , we define  dynamic derivative  by
      
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
Consequently, if and only if f is both  and ∇ differentiable, then f is  differentiable. We assume that  is a dense point. If  exists, then . This shows that  derivative is an important generalization.
If  are  differentiable at , the following properties hold:
 for all 
 where 
Let , and . The  integral of h is defined as
      
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
The following property is provided for , .
      
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
Let ,  is a regressive function,  and  for all  where  is the the backward graininess function. Then, for   []
      
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
      and
      
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
The space of all square  integrable functions on , where  and , is as follows.
      
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
We define the diamond-type inner product of  and  on  by
      
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
The space  and  inner product will be used in the proof of spectral properties of a  Dirac problem in the next section.
In this study, we consider a  Dirac eigenvalue problem
      
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
      which is handled with boundary conditions
      
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
      where
      
      
        
      
      
      
      
    ;  is a spectral parameter, and  are continuous functions. If the necessary adjustments are made in Equation (5), the following system is obtained:
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
By setting  in (8), we obtain following classical Dirac system:
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
Equation (9) is called the first canonical form of the Dirac system. In quantum physics, the Dirac operator is the relativistic Schrödinger operator. Dirac proposed the Dirac operator for some difficulties encountered in quantum physics []. There are many studies on the Dirac operator and related problems, which is an important subject of study in this field. Levitan and Sargsjan have discussed the spectral theory of Dirac operators in detail []. A study on the eigenfunction expansion for the Dirac operator was made by Joa and Minkin []. Bairamov, Aygar, and Olgun found the Jost solutions of self-adjoint Dirac systems and examined their analytical properties and asymptotic behavior. They demonstrated that there is a finite number of simple real eigenvalues in the Dirac system []. Keskin and Ozkan studied the properties of eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of the inverse spectral problem for the Dirac operator []. The Dirac system has also been studied on the time scale. Gulsen and Yilmaz examined the spectral theory of the Dirac system on the time scale []. Hovhannisyan studied the linear Dirac equation on the discrete continuous and quantum time scale []. Allahverdiev and Tuna introduced the q analogue of the Dirac equation and examined some spectral properties by investigating the existence and uniqueness of the solution []. Gulsen, Yilmaz, and Goktas examine the conformable Dirac system on time scales []. Koprubası studied the impulsive discrete Dirac system with hyperbolic eigenparameters []. There are many studied theories regarding different versions of the Dirac system [,,,,,,,].
This study is organized as follows: After a reminder of some basic definitions and theorems regarding the calculation of  on time scales in the introduction section, in Section 2, we examine some spectral properties of a  Dirac problem on a uniform (, for all  []) time scale, and we obtain an expression for the eigenfunction of the  Dirac system.
2. Main Results
In this section, a  Dirac BVP,
      
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
      is discussed on a uniform time scale. The realness of eigenvalues and orthogonality of eigenfunctions on  are examined. The symmetry, boundedness, and linearity properties of Dirac operator,
      
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
      have been proven on , where X and Y are vector spaces. Later, we obtained some eigenfunction expansions for a  Dirac problem. In this section, it is assumed that  is uniform.
Theorem 1  
([]). Let us suppose that  on  is Δ differentiable. Then, for any  such that , f is ∇ differentiable at t and . Let us assume that  on  is ∇ differentiable. Then, for any  such that , f is Δ differentiable at t and .
Lemma 1. 
Let  be  integrable for  and , . Then, the following equality holds:
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
Lemma 2. 
Let  ,   be  integrable for ∀ and  Then, the  integration by parts formula on  is constructed by
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
Proof.  
By applying the  integral to the below equality,
        
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
        on  we get
        
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
In the last equality, isolating the term  yields
        
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
□
Proof.  
If the above equations are multiplied by , , , and , respectively, and rearranged, we get
        
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
Since  is uniform, the following equation can be written as
        
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
If we use this expression in the previous equation and integrate both sides from 0 to N, we get
        
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
So,
        
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
As a result, we have
        
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
        or
        
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
Since ,  and  are orthogonal on .    □
Proof.  
Assume that the complex eigenvalue is . So,  is also an eigenvalue. The following equation is obtained from the orthogonality theorem, where  is an eigenfunction.
        
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
        and, so
        
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
Since , . This is a contradiction since eigenfunctions cannot be zero. So, all eigenvalues are real.    □
Theorem 4  
([]). Let X be a Hilbert space and given the bounded linear operator . A necessary and sufficient condition for an operator A to be self-adjoint is that A is symmetric.
Lemma 3. 
Minkowski’s inequality for  integral []. If  and  are  integrable on , then
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
Theorem 5. 
 Dirac operator  is bounded on .
Proof.  
By the definition of  and norm on , and lemma 3, the following inequality can be obtained:
        
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
Thus,  is bounded on .    □
Theorem 6. 
 Dirac operator  is linear.
Proof.  
Let ,  and  From the definition of , we get
        
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
Therefore,  is linear.    □
Theorem 7. 
 Dirac operator is symmetric on .
Proof.  
Let eigenfunctions  and  be defined for the system (5). It is necessary to demonstrate that . Considering the system (5), we obtain
        
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
Since  is uniform, the following equation is obtained.
        
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
Let us apply the  integral of both sides from 0 to N in the last equation. Then,
        
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
From here, the  Dirac operator  is symmetric on .    □
Conclusion 1. 
The Dirac operator is self-adjoint since it is bounded, linear, and symmetrical on .
Proof.  
Let  and  be eigenfunctions of the problem (10)–(12). From (10), the following equations can be written:
        
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
If these equations are multiplied by , , , and , respectively, and the last equation is subtracted from the 2nd and the 3rd equation is subtracted from first, we obtain
        
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
        and
        
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
Then,
        
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
        and
        
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
Therefore, the following expressions are obtained:
        
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
        and
        
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
As a result,  and  are obtained. This gives . So, it completes the proof.    □
Theorem 9. 
    and 
Proof.  
First, let us consider homogeneous solution of the system (8) , as
        
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
If we use , the following occurs:
        
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
These two homogeneous solutions can be written as follows by using a variation of parameters method [].
        
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
      
        
      
      
      
      
    
3. Conclusions
In this study, some basic features of the  calculation are examined and the  Dirac system is discussed on a uniform time scale. Then, basic spectral features are examined. An eigenfunction expansion has been obtained for the  Dirac problem, which is considered with a certain boundary condition. Under special assumptions, these solutions can yield different results.
In mathematics and science, spectral theory is essential, especially when examining linear operators on different function spaces. We want to extend the application of spectral theory to a larger class of mathematical objects beyond the classical continuous and discrete situations by investigating the spectral features of Dirac systems with diamond-alpha derivatives on a uniform time scale. The behavior of quantum systems with non-classical dynamics can be better understood by taking into account the spectrum characteristics of Dirac systems on a uniform time scale. New mathematical approaches and methodologies for the time-scale analysis of differential equations and operators can be developed via the study of the spectral theory of Dirac systems with diamond-alpha derivatives. In the future, the spectral theory could be extended to more intricate systems than the simple Dirac equation with diamond-alpha derivatives. This might entail taking into account extra interactions, boundary constraints, and expansions to higher-dimensional spaces. Theoretical physics and mathematical analysis may be affected in this way.
Author Contributions
Conceptualization, T.G. and E.Y.; methodology, E.Y.; validation, T.G. and A.Ç.Y.; formal analysis, T.G. and A.Ç.Y.; investigation, E.Y.; resources, E.Y.; writing—original draft preparation, T.G. and A.Ç.Y.; writing—review and editing, T.G.; supervision, E.Y. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding
This research received no external funding.
Data Availability Statement
Data are contained within the article.
Acknowledgments
The authors are very grateful to the anonymous referee for their thorough review of this work and their comments.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
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