Illustration of the semiclassical theory of large amplitude collective excitations and fission by means of a schematic model

The recently developed semiclassical theory of large amplitude collective excitations and fission is applied to the so-called Suzuki model, which is exactly soluble within this theory. In particular we study the leading order quantum corrections to the time-dependent mean-field approximation in the fission problem.     

LANDAU PARAMETER GIANT MONOPOLE AND QUADRUPOLE STATES IN THE RELATIVISTIC HARTREE APPROXIMATION

By using the Hartree approximation which includes vacuum fluctuation correction in a model relativistic quantum field theory,it is found that the relativistic Landau parameters and the compressibility of the Fermi-liquid in the nuclear system,and the excitation energies of the giant monopole and quadrupole states are more close to the experimental values in comparison with the results of the mean-field theory.     

On the Born-Oppenheimer approximation of wave operators in molecular scattering theory

In this paper we study the diatomic molecular scattering by reducing the number of particles through Born-Oppenheimer approximation. Under a non-trapping assumption on the effective potential of the molecular Hamiltonian we use semiclassical resolvent estimates to show that non-adiabatic corrections to the adiabatic (or Born-Oppenheimer) wave operators are small. Furthermore we study the classical limit of the adiabatic wave operators by computing its action on quantum observables microlocalized by use of coherent states.     

Temperature dependence of bound state spectra in field theory

We analyze the behaviour of kinks and semiclassical bound states at finite temperatures by applying quantum statistics to the fluctuations which determine the quantum dynamics of these states. We consider two theories in one space dimension — the ?⁴ theory with a dynamical symmetry breaking and the Gross-Neveu model. For the ?⁴ theory, the one-loop temperature corrections are obtained by using temperature-dependent Green function techniques. We show that the same result can be obtained by applying quantum statistics to the fluctuations around the kink. For the Gross-Neveu model, the temperature dependence of the bound states, which correspond to time-independent field configurations, is obtained. We show that for every bound state there exists a critical temperature at which this state breaks up into its constituents. This critical temperature increases with the number of constituents of the bound state.     

Black holes and beyond

The black hole information paradox forces us into a strange situation: we must find a way to break the semiclassical approximation in a domain where no quantum gravity effects would normally be expected. Traditional quantizations of gravity do not exhibit any such breakdown, and this forces us into a difficult corner: either we must give up quantum mechanics or we must accept the existence of troublesome ‘remnants’. In string theory, however, the fundamental quanta are extended objects, and it turns out that the bound states of such objects acquire a size that grows with the number of quanta in the bound state. The interior of the black hole gets completely altered to a ‘fuzzball’ structure, and information is able to escape in radiation from the hole. The semiclassical approximation can break at macroscopic scales due to the large entropy of the hole: the measure in the path integral competes with the classical action, instead of giving a subleading correction. Putting this picture of black hole microstates together with ideas about entangled states leads to a natural set of conjectures on many long-standing questions in gravity: the significance of Rindler and de Sitter entropies, the notion of black hole complementarity, and the fate of an observer falling into a black hole.     

Bohmian trajectory perspective on strong field atomic processes

The interaction of an atom with an intense laser field provides an important approach to explore the ultrafast electron dynamics and extract the information of the atomic and molecular structures with unprecedented attosecond temporal and angstrom spatial resolution. To well understand the strong field atomic processes, numerous theoretical methods have been developed, including solving the time-dependent Schr ?dinger equation(TDSE), classical and semiclassical trajectory method, quantum S-matrix theory within the strong-field approximation, etc. Recently, an alternative and complementary quantum approach, called Bohmian trajectory theory, has been successfully used in the strong-field atomic physics and an exciting progress has been achieved in the study of strong-field phenomena. In this paper, we provide an overview of the Bohmian trajectory method and its perspective on two strong field atomic processes, i.e., atomic and molecular ionization and high-order harmonic generation, respectively.     

Quantum mechanical treatment of electron-positron excitations in heavy ion collisions with nuclear contact

A general theory is formulated of electron-positron excitations in heavy ion collisions with nuclear contact, treating the nuclear relative motion quantum mechanically. A set of coupled channel equations for the electronic occupation amplitudes is derived, which is formally very similar to the semiclassical theory based on a classical nuclear trajectory, and reduces to the latter in the JWKB approximation. The new coupled equations contain all the quantum mechanical information on the details of the nuclear scattering during nuclear contact. The importantce of this formulation for a quantitative theory of spontaneous positron creation in supercritical systems with nuclear time delay is pointed out. The possibility of line structures in the positron spectrum, as predicted semiclassically and recently discovered experimentally, is discussed in the framework of the DWBA approximation. For light-particle scattering off a nuclear resonance, the Blair formula for vacancy production is recovered in the same approximation.     

The semiclassical treatment of some quantum problems

The semiclassical treatment of quantummechanical problems is discussed making use of a generalization of the Hamilton-Jacobi partial differential equation to cases in which only some of the variables of the problem are treated classically. The quantum equations are put into a form in which the effects not covered by the semiclassical approximation are concentrated into one set of terms. This enables one to calculate corrections to the semiclassical theory and to demonstrate that compensations of the decrease of scattering in the coherent (“elastic”) channel by the increase caused by the presence of incoherent (“inelastic”) channels which is exact in the semiclassical approximation holds in a certain approximation quantum-mechanically. By means of these relationships it is shown that some and presumably the main contributions to the dynamical effects of molecular electrons interacting with protons in experiments on proton-proton and proton-neutron scattering are negligibly small.     

Complex-Domain Semiclassical Theory: Application to Time-Dependent Barrier Tunneling Problems

Semiclassical theory based upon complexified classical mechanics is developed for periodically time-dependent scattering systems, which are minimal models of multi-dimensional systems. Semiclassical expression of the wave-matrix is derived, which is represented as the sum of the contributions from classical trajectories, where all the dynamical variables as well as the time are extended to the complex-domain. The semiclassical expression is examined by a periodically perturbed 1D barrier system and an excellent agreement with the fully quantum result is confirmed. In a stronger perturbation regime, the tunneling component of the wave-matrix exhibits a remarkable interference fringes, which is clarified by the semiclassical theory as an interference among multiple complex tunneling trajectories. It turns out that such a peculiar behavior is the manifestation of an intrinsic multi-dimensional effect closely related to a singular movement of singularities possessed by the complex classical trajectories.     

Semiclassical quantization of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation

Using the functional integral technique of Dashen, Hasslacher, and Neveu, we perform a semiclassical quantization of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation, which reproduces McGuire's exact result for the energy levels of the theory's bound states. We show that the stability angle formalism leads to the one-loop normal ordering and self-energy renormalization expected from perturbation theory and demonstrate that taking into account center-of-mass motion gives the correct nonrelativistic energymomentum relation. We interpret the classical solution in the context of the quantum theory, relating it to the matrix element of the field operator between adjacent bound states in the limit of large quantum numbers. Finally, we quantize the NLSE as a theory of N component fermion fields and show that the semiclassical method yields the exact energy levels and correct degeneracies.     

A One-Dimensional Model of Hydrogen Molecular Ion

We present a study on a one-dimensional hydrogen molecular ion under the Born-Oppenheimer approximation. A canonical transformation produces the classical system directlyto be a pendulum. The quantum Schrodinger equation is solved analytically and theelectronic energy curves show that the bound states of this 1D model differ from the 2D and 3DH₂⁺. The vibration spectroscopy is also obtained by employing the Morse's eigen wavefunctionsas basis vectors to diagonalize the Hamiltonian for R. The semiclassical quantization yieldselectronic energies in agreement with the quantum ones reasonably.     

Bifurcation phenomena of photodetached electron flux in parallel external fields

A semiclassical method based on the closed-orbit theory is applied to analysing the dynamics of photodetached electron of H$^- $ in the parallel electric and magnetic fields. By simply varying the magnetic field we reveal spatial bifurcations of electron orbits at a fixed emission energy, which is referred to as the fold caustic in classical motion. The quantum manifestations of these singularities display a series of intermittent divergences in electronic flux distributions. We introduce semiclassical uniform approximation to repair the electron wavefunctions locally in a mixed phase space and obtain reasonable results. The approximation provides a better treatment of the problem.     

Shell structure and orbit bifurcations in finite fermion systems

We first give an overview of the shell-correction method which was developed by V.M. Strutinsky as a practicable and efficient approximation to the general self-consistent theory of finite fermion systems suggested by A.B. Migdal and collaborators. Then we present in more detail a semiclassical theory of shell effects, also developed by Strutinsky following original ideas of M.C. Gutzwiller. We emphasize, in particular, the influence of orbit bifurcations on shell structure. We first give a short overview of semiclassical trace formulae, which connect the shell oscillations of a quantum system with a sum over periodic orbits of the corresponding classical system, in what is usually called the “periodic orbit theory”. We then present a case study in which the gross features of a typical double-humped nuclear fission barrier, including the effects of mass asymmetry, can be obtained in terms of the shortest periodic orbits of a cavity model with realistic deformations relevant for nuclear fission. Next we investigate shell structures in a spheroidal cavity model which is integrable and allows for far-going analytical computation. We show, in particular, how period-doubling bifurcations are closely connected to the existence of the so-called “superdeformed” energy minimum which corresponds to the fission isomer of actinide nuclei. Finally, we present a general class of radial power-law potentials which approximate well the shape of a Woods-Saxon potential in the bound region, give analytical trace formulae for it and discuss various limits (including the harmonic oscillator and the spherical box potentials).     

Quasiclassical Hamiltonians for large-spin systems

We extend and apply a previously developed method for a semiclassical treatment of a system with large spin S. A multisite Heisenberg Hamiltonian is transformed into an effective classical Hamilton function which can be treated by standard methods for classical systems. Quantum effects enter in form of multispin interactions in the Hamilton function. The latter is written in the form of an expansion in powers of J/(TS), where J is the coupling constant. Main ingredients of our method are spin coherent states and cumulants. Rules and diagrams are derived for computing cumulants of groups of operators entering the Hamiltonian. The theory is illustrated by calculating the quantum corrections to the free energy of a Heisenberg chain which were previously computed by a Wigner-Kirkwood expansion. Received 5 May 1999 and received in final form 24 September 1999     

Semiclassical propagator of the Wigner function

Propagation of the Wigner function is studied on two levels of semiclassical propagation: one based on the Van Vleck propagator, the other on phase-space path integration. Leading quantum corrections to the classical Liouville propagator take the form of a time-dependent quantum spot. Its oscillatory structure depends on whether the underlying classical flow is elliptic or hyperbolic. It can be interpreted as the result of interference of a pair of classical trajectories, indicating how quantum coherences are to be propagated semiclassically in phase space. The phase-space path-integral approach allows for a finer resolution of the quantum spot in terms of Airy functions.