Quantum and Thermal Properties of the Klein-Gordon Inverted Harmonic Oscillator with Physical Applications

We develop a systematic framework for the quantum and thermal properties of a Klein-Gordon scalar field subject to an inverted harmonic potential -{1over2} m²ω² x². Starting from a non-Hermitian momentum substitution P → P - mωx, we employ a symplectic phase-space rotation V = expleft\[-tfracπ{8}(xp+px)right\] to map the system onto an analytically tractable effective harmonic oscillator evaluated at xe^iπ/4. This allows us to define a well-regulated partition function Z(β,ω,m) and derive closed-form expressions for the free energy, entropy, and thermal correlation functions. We then apply this framework to three physical settings: (i) scalar field fluctuations during cosmological inflation, (ii) quantum fields near black-hole horizons, and (iii) order-parameter dynamics near second-order phase transitions in condensed matter. Our results unify previously scattered results in the literature and provide new predictions for the finite-temperature spectral density and entanglement entropy of unstable quantum systems.