Unified path integral treatment for generalized Hulthén and Woods-Saxon potentials

A rigorous path integral discussion of the s states for a diatomic molecule potential with varying shape, which generalizes the Hulthén and the Woods-Saxon potentials, is presented. A closed form of the Green’s function is obtained for different shapes of this potential. For λ ? 1 and (1/η)lnλ<r<∞, the energy spectrum and the normalized wave functions of the bound states are derived. When the deformation parameter λ is 0 < λ < 1 or λ < 0, it is found that the quantization conditions are transcendental equations that require numerical solutions. The special cases corresponding to a screened potential (λ = 1), the deformed Woods-Saxon potential (λ = q e^ηR), and the Morse potential (λ = 0) are likewise treated.     

New framework for the Feynman path integral

The well-known Fourier integral solution of the free diffusion equation in an arbitrary Euclidean space is reduced to Feynmannian integrals using the method partly contained in the formulation of the Fresnelian integral. By replacing the standard Hilbert space underlying the present mathematical formulation of the Feynman path integral by a new Hilbert space, the space of classical paths on the tangent bundle to the Euclidean space (and more general to an arbitrary Riemannian manifold) equipped with a natural inner product, we show that our Feynmannian integral is in better agreement with the qualitative features of the original Feynman path integral than the previous formulations of the integral.     

The integral equation approach to four-nucleon bound states

Within the framework of the Yakubovsky four-body equations the 0⁺ bound states of ⁴He are determined. The two-particle interactions used are of the separable Yamaguchi type and include spin-dependent forces. The problem is reduced to the solution of four coupled integral equations in two variables. The separable approximation of the kernels makes it possible to reduce the problem to a set of single variable integral equations. The separable approximation method employed is based on the Hilbert-Schmidt expansion applied to the kernels of four-body equations. The ground state energy of ⁴He is found to be ?45.73 MeV, the excited 0⁺ level lies at ?11.69 MeV. In conclusion we discuss the accuracy of various approximate methods in the four-nucleon problem.     

The Feynman path integral and its optical applications

There is a fruitful analogy between mechanics and optics. To describe the transition from quantum mechanics to classical mechanics, Feynman introduced the concept of an “integral over all paths”. The Feynman integral is used here to describe the transition from wave optics to geometrical optics. We suggest simple mathematical tools that allow use the Feynman integral and its approximation to calculate the radiation transport through an optically inhomogeneous layer and through an aperture in an infinite opaque screen.     

Boundary conditions,symmetry breakdown and Feynman path integral

The analysis of boundary conditions in variational formulation of classical field theory is performed. It is used in the Feynman path integral formulation of quantum theory including non-trivial cases of dynamical symmetry breakdown.Presented at the International Symposium Selected Topics in Quantum Field Theory and Mathematical Physics, Bechyn, Czechoslovakia, June 14–19, 1981.     

Theory of atom optics: Feynman’s path integral approach (II)

In the preceding paper, we discussed eight configurations of particle Fraunhofer diffraction. In this paper, we consider nine configurations of particle Fresnel diffraction, and have derived the wave functions of particles in these configurations. Furthermore, the author presents a new inertial navigator principle. Its devised accuracy is not lower than that of the inertial navigator based on cold atom interferometer. The new inertial navigator is named as ABSE inertial navigator. ABSE is abbreviation for Aharonov-Bohm-Sagnac effect.     

Feynman integral treatment of the Bargmann potential

A method based on path integral formulation is given for obtaining exact solution of the s states for the Bargmann potential

     

Feynman path integral and ordering rules on discrete finite space

The Feynman path integral is constructed for systems whose configuration space is a discrete finite set. The construction is based on the operator formulation of quantum mechanics on a finite discrete space. We derive connections between operators and introduce the analogue of the^*-multiplication for discrete symbols.     

Exchange and spin states in quantum dots under strong spatial correlations. Computer simulation by the Feynman path integral method

The fundamental laws in the behavior of electrons in model quantum dots that are caused by exchange and strong Coulomb correlations are studied. The ab initio path integral method is used to numerically simulate systems of two, three, four, and six interacting identical electrons confined in a three-dimensional spherical potential well with a parabolic confining potential against the background of thermal fluctuations. The temperature dependences of spin and collective spin magnetic susceptibility are calculated for model quantum dots of various spatial sizes. A basically exact procedure is proposed for taking into account the permutation symmetry and the spin state of electrons, which makes it possible to perform numerical calculations using modern computer facilities. The conditions of applicability of a virial energy estimator and its optimum form in exchange systems are determined. A correlation estimator of kinetic energy, which is an alternative to a basic estimator, is suggested. A fundamental relation between the kinetic energy of a quantum particle and the character of its virtual diffusion in imaginary time is demonstrated. The process of natural “pairing” of electron spins during the compression of a quantum dot and cooling of a system is numerically reproduced in terms of path integrals. The temperature dependences of the spin magnetic susceptibility of electron pairs with a characteristic maximum caused by spin pairing are obtained.     

Computation of bound states for 2D potentials using discrete basis

Using a suitable Laguerre basis set that ensures a tridiagonal matrix representation of the reference Hamiltonian, we were able to evaluate in closed form the matrix representation of the associated Hamiltonian for two exactly solvable 2D potentials. This enabled us to treat analytically the full Hamiltonian and compute the associated bound states spectrum as the eigenvalues of the associated analytical matrix representing their Hamiltonians. Finally we compared our results satisfactorily with those obtained using the Gauss quadrature numerical integration approach.

PACS numbers: 03.65.Ge, 34.20.Cf, 03.65.Nk, 34.20.Gj     

Transport coefficients for deeply inelastic scattering from the Feynman path integral method

Friction and diffusion coefficients can be derived simply by combining statistical arguments with the Feynman path integral method. A transport equation for Feynman's influence functional is obtained, and transport coefficients are deduced from it. The expressions are discussed in the limits of weak, and of strong coupling.     

Temporal coherence of acoustic rays and modes using the path integral approach

Acoustic propagation can be described by rays and normal modes. Applying the path integral to refractive rays in three dimensional space, Dashen et al. [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 77, 1716-1722 (1985)] derived the mutual coherence function of the acoustic field. For shallow water where sound interacts with boundaries, the acoustic field can be described by vertical modes and horizontal rays. Applying the path integral to the horizontal rays, one obtains the mutual coherence function of the normal modes. This paper applies this formulation to the derivation of the temporal coherence function of individual modes and also that of the acoustic field in the presence of linear internal waves. The effects of mode coupling due to internal waves on temporal coherence loss are illustrated with numerical calculations.     

Angular smoothing and spatial diffusion from the Feynman path integral representation of radiative transfer

The propagation kernel for time dependent radiative transfer is represented by a Feynman path integral (FPI). The FPI is approximately evaluated in the spatial-Fourier domain. Spatial diffusion is exhibited in the kernel when the approximations lead to a Gaussian dependence on the Fourier domain wave vector. The approximations provide an explicit expression for the diffusion matrix. They also provide an asymptotic criterion for the self-consistency of the diffusion approximation. The criterion is weakly violated in the limit of large numbers of scattering lengths. Additional expansion of higher-order terms may resolve whether this weak violation is significant.     

The generalized pseudospectral approach to the bound states of the Hulthén and the Yukawa potentials

The generalized pseudospectral (GPS) method is employed to calculate the bound states of the Hulthén and the Yukawa potentials in quantum mechanics, with special emphasis onhigher excited states andstronger couplings. Accurate energy eigenvalues, expectation values and radial probability densities are obtained through a non-uniform and optimal spatial discretization of the radial Schrödinger equation. Results accurate up to thirteen to fourteen significant figures are reported for all the 55 eigenstates of both these potentials withn <- 10 for arbitrary values of the screening parameters covering a wide range of interaction. Furthermore, excited states as high asn = 17 have been computed with good accuracy for both these potentials. Excellent agreement with the available literature data has been observed in all cases. Then > 6 states of the Yukawa potential has been considerably improved over all other existing results currently available, while the same for Hulthén potential are reported here for the first time. Excepting the 1s and 2s states of the Yukawa potential, the present method surpasses the accuracy of all other existing results in the stronger coupling region for all other states of both these systems. This offers a simple and efficient scheme for the accurate calculation of these and other screened Coulomb potentials.     

Heavy-quark bound states in potentials with the Bethe-Salpeter equation

The spinless Bethe—Salpeter equation is solved for three attractive static quark-antiquark potentials of the form V(r)=–ar^–+br+c, 01, and the effective non-Coulombic power-law potential of the formV(r)=ar ^0.1+c to obtain the spin-averaged energy levels in bottomonium (b ) and charmonium (c ) families. The shifted 1/N expansion technique is used. Calculations of the energy eigenvalues are carried out up to third order and parameters of each potential are adjusted to obtain the best agreement with the experimental spin-averaged data (SAD). Flavor-dependent and flavor-independent cases are considered in this work.