On the Spatial Density Matrix for the Centre of Mass of a One-Dimensional Perfect Gas

We examine the reduced density matrix of the centre of mass on position basis considering a one-dimensional system of Nnoninteracting distinguishable particles in a infinitely deep square potential well. We find a class of pure states of the system for which the off-diagonal elements of the matrix above go to zero as Nincreases. This property holds also for the state vectors which are factorized in the single particle wave functions. In this last case, if the average energy of each particle is less than a common bound, the diagonal elements are distributed according to the normal law with a mean square deviation which becomes smaller and smaller as Nincreases towards infinity. Therefore when the state vectors are of the type considered we cannot experience spatial superpositions of the centre of mass and we may conclude that position is a preferred basis for the collective variable.     

Thermodynamic anomalies in the presence of general linear dissipation: from the free particle to the harmonic oscillator

A free particle coupled to a heat bath can exhibit a number of thermodynamic anomalies like a negative specific heat, reentrant classicality or a nonmonotonic entropy. These low-temperature phenomena are expected to be modified at very low temperatures where finite-size effects associated with the discreteness of the energy spectrum become relevant. In this paper, we explore in which form the thermodynamic anomalies visible in the specific heat and the entropy of the free damped particle appear for a damped harmonic oscillator. Since the discreteness of the oscillator’s energy spectrum is fully accounted for, the results are valid for arbitrary temperatures. As expected, they are in agreement with the third law of thermodynamics and indicate how the thermodynamic anomalies of the free damped particle can be reconciled with the third law. Particular attention is paid to the transition from the harmonic oscillator to the free particle when the limit of the oscillator frequency to zero is taken.     

Dissipation and Decoherence in a Quantum Oscillator

The time development of the reduced density matrix for a quantum oscillator damped by coupling it to an ohmic environment is calculated via an identity of the Debye-Waller form. Results obtained some years ago by Hakim and the author in the free-particle limit⁽¹⁰⁾ are thus recovered. The evolution of a free particle in a prepared initial state is examined, and a previously published exchange^(5,9) is illuminated with figures showing no decoherence without dissipation. PACS number: 03.75.Ss     

Propagator for the Chebyshev q object

We propose an alternative role of the harmonic oscillator algebra. Observing that the q-deformed harmonic oscillator algebra defines the Chebyshev q object, we show that the q-free particle and the pulsed oscillator are special cases of the Chebyshev q object, characterized by a common deformation parameter q and reduced to a usual free particle as q tends to unity. For the deformed free particle, q is a real number, whereas for the pulsed oscillator it belongs to S ¹. Then, we derive the propagator for the Chebyshev q object, from which we obtain the propagators for the deformed free particle and the pulsed oscillator.     

Environment-induced decoherence I. The Stern-Gerlach measurement

A dynamical model for the collapse of the wave function in a quantum measurement process is proposed by considering the interaction of a quantum system (spin -1/2) with a macroscopic quantum apparatus interacting with an environment in a dissipative manner. The dissipative interaction leads to decoherence in the superposition states of the apparatus, making its behaviour classical in the sense that the density matrix becomes diagonal with time. Since the apparatus is also interacting with the system, the probabilities of the diagonal density matrix are determined by the state vector of the system. We consider a Stern-Gerlach type model, where a spin-1/2 particle is in an inhomogeneous magnetic field, the whole set up being in contact with a large environment. Here we find that the density matrix of the combined system and apparatus becomes diagonal and the momentum of the particle becomes correlated with a spin operator, selected by the choice of the system-apparatus interaction. This allows for a measurement of spin via a momentum measurement on the particle with associated probabilities in accordance with quantum principles.     

On the Decoherence of Macroscopic Bodies

We consider the field, either gravitational or electric, associated to a macroscopic source. Tracing over the field's degrees of freedom we show that the reduced density matrix diagonalizes on the position basis for macroscopic separations. The non diagonal reduced density matrix elements are quenched by a factor which is independent of the body being at rest or in motion. This may provide an explanation of the classical behavior of everyday objects not dissimilar to the one based on decoherence by environment. We discuss a few examples which indicate that the electric field even in the case of a totally neutral body is more effective, through a dipole contribution, than the gravitational field.     

Schwinger action principle via linear quantum canonical transformations

We have applied the Schwinger action principle to general one-dimensional (1D), time-dependent quadratic systems via linear quantum canonical transformations, which allowed us to simplify the problems to be solved by this method. We show that while using a suitable linear canonical transformation, we can considerably simplify the evaluation of the propagator of the studied system to that for a free particle. The efficiency and exactness of this method is verified in the case of the simple harmonic oscillator. This technique enables us to evaluate easily and immediately the propagator in some particular cases such as the damped harmonic oscillator, the harmonic oscillator with a time-dependent frequency, and the harmonic oscillator with time-dependent mass and frequency, and in this way the propagator of the forced damped harmonic oscillator is easily calculated without any approach. PACS 02.30.Xx, 03.65.-w, 03.65.Ca     

Quantum theory with an energy operator defined as a quartic form of the momentum

Quantum theory of the non-harmonic oscillator defined by the energy operator proposed by Yurke and Buks (2006) is presented. Although these authors considered a specific problem related to a model of transmission lines in a Kerr medium, our ambition is not to discuss the physical substantiation of their model. Instead, we consider the problem from an abstract, logically deductive, viewpoint. Using the Yurke–Buks energy operator, we focus attention on the imaginary-time propagator. We derive it as a functional of the Mehler kernel and, alternatively, as an exact series involving Hermite polynomials. For a statistical ensemble of identical oscillators defined by the Yurke–Buks energy operator, we calculate the partition function, average energy, free energy and entropy. Using the diagonal element of the canonical density matrix of this ensemble in the coordinate representation, we define a probability density, which appears to be a deformed Gaussian distribution. A peculiarity of this probability density is that it may reveal, when plotted as a function of the position variable, a shape with two peaks located symmetrically with respect to the central point.     

Deformed quantum harmonic oscillator with diffusion and dissipation

A master equation for the deformed quantum harmonic oscillator interacting with a dissipative environment, in particular with a thermal bath, is derived in the microscopic model by using perturbation theory. The coefficients of the master equation and of equations of motion for observables depend on the deformation function. The steady-state solution of the equation for the density matrix in the number representation is obtained and the equilibrium energy of the deformed harmonic oscillator is calculated in the approximation of small deformation.     

The hypervirial relations for radial problems with l = 0

A method of obtaining the hypervirial theorem relations for matrix elements in the radial l = 0 case is presented. The importance of the rotational energy term has been demonstrated. The new relation between the diagonal and nondiagonal matrix elements is given. The triply degenerate three-dimensional harmonic oscillator and the hydrogen-like atom are considered as examples.     

Extending Newton's law from nonlocal-in-time kinetic energy

We study a new equation of motion derived from a context of classical Newtonian mechanics by replacing the kinetic energy with a form of nonlocal-in-time kinetic energy. It leads to a hypothetical extension of Newton's second law of motion. In a first stage the obtainable solution form is studied by considering an unknown value for the nonlocality time extent. This is done in relation to higher-order Euler-Lagrange equations and a Hamiltonian framework. In a second stage the free particle case and harmonic oscillator case are studied and compared with quantum mechanical results. For a free particle it is shown that the solution form is a superposition of the classical straight line motion and a Fourier series. We discuss the link with quanta interpretations made in Pais-Uhlenbeck oscillators. The discrete nature emerges from the continuous time setting through application of the least action principle. The harmonic oscillator case leads to energy levels that approximately correspond to the quantum harmonic oscillator levels. The solution to the extended Newton equation also admits a quantization of the nonlocality time extent, which is determined by the classical oscillator frequency. The extended equation suggests a new possible way for understanding the relationship between classical and quantum mechanics.     

Structural and optical characteristics of Ce,Nd, Gd,and Dy-doped $$\hbox {Al}_{2}\hbox {O}_{3}$$ thin films

In a quantum harmonic oscillator (QHO), the energy of the oscillator increases with increased frequency. In this paper, assuming a boundary condition that the product of momentum and position, or the product of energy density and position remains constant in the QHO, it is established that a particle subjected to increasing frequencies becomes gradually subtler to transform into a very high dormant potential energy. This very high dormant potential energy is referred to as ‘like-potential’ energy in this paper. In the process a new wave function is generated. This new function, which corresponds to new sets of particles, has scope to raise the quantum oscillator energy (QOE) up to infinity. It is proposed to show that this high energy does not get cancelled but remains dormant. Further, it is proposed that the displacement about the equilibrium goes to zero when the vibration of the oscillator stops and then the QOE becomes infinity – this needs further research. The more the QOE, the greater will be the degree of dormancy. A simple mathematical model has been derived here to discuss the possibilities that are involved in the QHO under the above-mentioned boundary conditions.     

Path integral for a neutral spinning particle in interaction with a rotating magnetic field and a scalar potential

In this paper we consider a neutral spinning particle in interaction with a linear increasing rotating magnetic field and a scalar harmonic potential using the path integral formalism. The Pauli matrices which describe the spin dynamics are replaced by two fermionic oscillators via the Schwinger’s model. The calculations are carried out explicitly using fermionic exterior current sources. The problem is then reduced to that of a spinning forced harmonic particle whose spin is coupled to exterior derivative current sources. The result of the propagator is given as a series which is exactly summed up by means of the Laplace transformation and the use of some recurrence formula of the oscillator wave functions. The energy spectrum and the corresponding wave functions are also deduced.     

Path integrals for the quantum microcanonical ensemble

Path integral representations for the quantum microcanonical ensemble are presented. In the quantum microcanonical ensemble, two operators are of primary interest. First, rhoinsertion mark=delta(E-Hinsertion mark) corresponds to the microcanonical density matrix and can be used to calculate expectation values. Second, Ninsertion mark=Theta(E-Hinsertion mark) can give the number of states with energy E(n) and Theta(x,x('),E)=. A path integral formalism leads to exact integral representations for Omega(x,x('),E) and Theta(x,x('),E). We present both phase space and configuration space forms. For simple systems, such as the free particle and harmonic oscillator, exact solutions are possible. For more complicated systems, expansion schemes or numerical evaluations are required. A perturbative calculation and numerical integration results are presented for the quantum anharmonic oscillator.     

Path integrals and lower bounds for density matrices

Feynman has established a variational principle for the coordinate space representation of the canonical density matrix. It uses real trial actions in place of the actual real action. This principle is extended by dividing the original temperature interval, using matrix multiplication, and trial actions that depend on the end points. The result is a series of better lower bounds. A detailed analysis is made of the soluble harmonic oscillator case using free particle and mean path trial actions.Work supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation.     

On Quantum Mechanics on Noncommutative Quantum Phase Space

In this work, we develop a general framework in which Noncommutative Quantum Mechanics (NCQM), characterized by a space noncommutativity matrix parameter θ=ε_ij^k θ_k and a momentum noncommutativity matrix parameter β=ε_ij^k β_k, is shown to be equivalent to Quantum Mechanics (QM) on a suitable transformed Quantum Phase Space (QPS). Imposing some constraints on this particular transformation, we firstly find that the product of the two parameters θ and β possesses a lower bound in direct relation with Heisenberg incertitude relations, and secondly that the two parameters are equivalent but with opposite sign, up to a dimension factor depending on the physical system under study. This means that noncommutativity is represented by a unique parameter which may play the role of a fundamental constant characterizing the whole NCQPS. Within our framework, we treat some physical systems on NCQPS : free particle, harmonic oscillator, system of two-charged particles, Hydrogen atom. Among the obtained results, we discover a new phenomenon which consists of a free particle on NCQPS viewed as equivalent to a harmonic oscillator with Larmor frequency depending on β, representing the same particle in presence of a magnetic field $\vec{B}=q^{-1}\vec{\beta}$. For the other examples, additional correction terms depending on β appear in the expression of the energy spectrum. Finally, in the two-particle system case, we emphasize the fact that for two opposite charges noncommutativity is effectively feeled with opposite sign.     

Dynamics of a Fermi system with resonant dissipation and dynamical detailed balance

The dissipative dynamics of a system of Fermions is described in the framework of a resonance model—the quantum master equation describes two-body correlations of the system with the environment particles. This equation, with microscopic coefficients depending on the exactly known two-body potential between the system and the environment particles, is discussed in comparison with other master equations, obtained on axiomatic grounds, or derived from a coupling with an environment of harmonic oscillators without altering the quantum conditions. The asymptotic solution is in accordance with the detailed balance principle, and with other generally accepted conditions satisfied during the whole time-evolution: Pauli master equations for the diagonal elements of the density matrix, and damped Bloch–Feynman equations for the non-diagonal ones, that we call dynamical detailed balance. For a harmonic oscillator coupled with the electromagnetic field through dipole interaction, a master equation with transition operators between successive levels is obtained. As an application, the decay width of a quantum logic gate is calculated.     

Exact solution for a non-Markovian dissipative quantum dynamics

We provide the exact analytic solution of the stochastic Schr?dinger equation describing a harmonic oscillator interacting with a non-Markovian and dissipative environment. This result represents an arrival point in the study of non-Markovian dynamics via stochastic differential equations. It is also one of the few exactly solvable models for infinite-dimensional systems. We compute the Green's function; in the case of a free particle and with an exponentially correlated noise, we discuss the evolution of Gaussian wave functions.     

Molecular torsion: Comparison of harmonic oscillator and free rotor bases

In this work we describe a method of solving the eigenvalue problem of torsional motion in polyatomic molecules by expanding the eigenfunctions in a harmonic oscillator basis. By comparing the eigenvalues obtained with a harmonic oscillator basis and those calculated with a free rotor basis, it is found that a basis with only 5–7 oscillator functions will reproduce the low-lying energy levels for large torsional barriers with the same accuracy as a basis with about 10 free rotor functions. The method has been applied to a calculation of the barriers to internal rotation for methyl ammonium chloride. The barriers were obtained from a least squares fit of the torsional frequencies of methyl ammonium chloride and seven of its deuterated derivatives, treating the molecule as a double rotor. The method is recommended for the calculation of large rotational barriers from spectroscopic data on systems in any state of aggregation, and may therefore be useful in the testing of theoretical models.