The autocorrelation function, A(t), measures the overlap (in Hilbert space) of a time-dependent quantum mechanical wave function, psi(x,t), with its initial value, psi(x,0). It finds extensive use in the theoretical analysis and experimental measurement of such phenomena as quantum wave packet revivals. We evaluate explicit expressions for the autocorrelation function for time-dependent Gaussian solutions of the Schrodinger equation corresponding to the cases of a free particle, a particle undergoing uniform acceleration, a particle in a harmonic oscillator potential, and a system corresponding to an unstable equilibrium (the so-called `inverted' oscillator.) We emphasize the importance of momentum-space methods where such calculations are often more straightforwardly realized, as well as stressing their role in providing complementary information to results obtained using position-space wavefunctions.
We consider the time evolution of a wave packet representing a quantum particle moving in a geometrically open billiard that consists of a number of fixed hard-disk or hard-sphere scatterers. Using the technique of multiple collision expansions we provide a first-principle analytical calculation of the time-dependent autocorrelation function for the wave packet in the high-energy diffraction regime, in which the particle's de Broglie wave length, while being small compared to the size of the scatterers, is large enough to prevent the formation of geometric shadow over distances of the order of…
We show that the time frequency analysis of the autocorrelation function is, in many ways, a more appropriate tool to resolve fractional revivals of a wave packet than the usual time domain analysis. This advantage is crucial in reconstructing the initial state of the wave packet when its coherent structure is short-lived and decays before it is fully revived. Our calculations are based on the model example of fractional revivals in a Rydberg wave packet of circular states. We end by providing an analytical investigation which fully agrees with our numerical observations on the utility of time…
It is known that, after formation, a Rydberg wave packet undergoes a series of collapses and revivals within a time period called the revival time, $t_{\rm rev}$, at the end of which it is close to its original shape. We study the behavior of Rydberg wave packets on time scales much greater than $t_{\rm rev}$. We show that after a few revival cycles the wave packet ceases to reform at multiples of the revival time. Instead, a new series of collapses and revivals commences, culminating after a time period $t_{\rm sr} \gg t_{\rm rev}$ with the formation of a wave packet that more closely resembl…
We study radial wave packets produced by short-pulsed laser fields acting on Rydberg atoms, using analytical tools from supersymmetry-based quantum-defect theory. We begin with a time-dependent perturbative calculation for alkali-metal atoms, incorporating the atomic-excitation process. This provides insight into the general wave packet behavior and demonstrates agreement with conventional theory. We then obtain an alternative analytical description of a radial wave packet as a member of a particular family of squeezed states, which we call radial squeezed states. By construction, these have c…
An analytical approach to quantum mechanical wave packet dynamics of laser-driven particles is presented. The time-dependent Schroedinger equation is solved for an electron exposed to a linearly polarized plane wave of arbitrary shape. The calculation goes beyond the dipole approximation, such that magnetic field effects like wave packet shearing are included. Analytical expressions for the time-dependent widths of the wave packet and its orientation are established. These allow for a simple understanding of the wave packet dynamics.
Wave packet fractional revivals is a relevant feature in the long time scale evolution of a wide range of physical systems, including atoms, molecules and nonlinear systems. We show that the sum of information entropies in both position and momentum conjugate spaces is an indicator of fractional revivals by analyzing three different model systems: $(i)$ the infinite square well, $(ii)$ a particle bouncing vertically against a wall in a gravitational field, and $(iii)$ the vibrational dynamics of hydrogen iodide molecules. This description in terms of information entropies complements the usual…
Optimal control problem with a goal to squeeze wave packet of a trapped quantum particle is considered and solved analytically using adiabatic approximation. The analytical solution that drives the particle into a highly localized final state is presented for a case of an infinite well trapping potential. The presented solution may be applied to increase the resolution of atom lithography.
This paper begins with an examination of the revival structure and long-term evolution of Rydberg wave packets for hydrogen. We show that after the initial cycle of collapse and fractional/full revivals, which occurs on the time scale $t_{\rm rev}$, a new sequence of revivals begins. We find that the structure of the new revivals is different from that of the fractional revivals. The new revivals are characterized by periodicities in the motion of the wave packet with periods that are fractions of the revival time scale $t_{\rm rev}$. These long-term periodicities result in the autocorrelation…
We investigate the short-, medium-, and long-term time dependence of wave packets in the infinite square well. In addition to emphasizing the appearance of wave packet revivals, i.e., situations where a spreading wave packet reforms with close to its initial shape and width, we also examine in detail the approach to the collapsed phase where the position-space probability density is almost uniformly spread over the well. We focus on visualizing these phenomena in both position- and momentum-space as well as by following the time-dependent expectation values of and uncertainties in position and…
Using Gaussian wave packet solutions, we examine how the kinetic energy is distributed in time-dependent solutions of the Schrodinger equation corresponding to the cases of a free particle, a particle undergoing uniform acceleration, a particle in a harmonic oscillator potential, and a system corresponding to an unstable equilibrium. We find, for specific choices of initial parameters, that as much as 90% of the kinetic energy can be localized (at least conceptually) in the `front half' of such Gaussian wave packets, and we visualize these effects.
We analyze both analytically and numerically the resonant four-wave mixing of two co-propagating single-photon wave packets. We present analytic expressions for the two-photon wave function and show that soliton-type quantum solutions exist which display a shape-preserving oscillatory exchange of excitations between the modes. Potential applications including quantum information processing are discussed.
We outline an analytical framework for the treatment of radial Rydberg wave packets produced by short laser pulses in the absence of external electric and magnetic fields. Wave packets of this type are localized in the radial coordinates and have p-state angular distributions. We argue that they can be described by a particular analytical class of squeezed states, called radial squeezed states. For hydrogenic Rydberg atoms, we discuss the time evolution of the corresponding hydrogenic radial squeezed states. They are found to undergo decoherence and collapse, followed by fractional and full re…
Wave packet motion in a quantized electromagnetic field: Analytic results
ELI ALPS, The Extreme Light Infrastructure ERIC（ELI ALPS，极端光基础设施欧洲研究基础设施公司）；Department of Theoretical Physics, University of Szeged（塞格德大学理论物理系）；Bolyai Institute, University of Szeged（塞格德大学博莱研究所）；Department of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, John von Neumann University（约翰·冯·诺依曼大学机械与自动化学院基础科学系）；Faculty of Physics, Babeş-Bolyai University（巴贝什-博约伊大学物理学院）
A peak in coincidence events has been observed in a modified Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometer fed with weak coherent states inside the region of overlapping wave-packets. The inversion of the usual interference pattern represented by the HOM dip is equally observed when the wave packets are frequency displaced. The higher rate of coincidences indicates that photons are more likely to take on different output paths of the interferometer. This effect was harnessed so a detection on one of the arms could herald the presence of a photon in the other. The second order autocorrelation function at zero …
We present theoretical study of revival phenomena for a wave packet initially well localized in a one-dimensional potential in the presence of an external periodic modulating field. The classical motion, revival, and super-revival time scale are derived exactly for wave packet excited in the one dimension box potential.
An analytical treatment of a propagating wave packet incident on a transient barrier reveals a counterintuitive quantum mechanical effect in which, for a particular time interval, the time-varying transmission probability {\it exceeds} (`superarrival') that for the free propagation of the wave packet. It is found that the speed with which the information about the barrier perturbation propagates across the wave packet can exceed the group velocity of the wave packet. An interesting implication of this effect regarding information transfer is analyzed by showing one-to-one correspondence betwee…
There are important differences between the nonrelativistic and relativistic description of electron beams. The orbital angular momentum quantum number cannot be used to specify the wave functions in the relativistic case. In this Letter we introduce analytic solutions of the Dirac equation in the form of exponential wave packets and we argue that they properly describe relativistic electron beams carrying angular momentum.
We consider a laser induced molecular excitation process as a decay of a single energy state into a continuum. The analytic results based on Weisskopf-Wigner approach and perturbation calculations are compared with numerical wave packet results. We find that the decay model describes the excitation process well within the expected parameter region.
A one-dimensional scattering problem off a $δ$-shaped potential is solved analytically and the time development of a wave packet is derived from the time-dependent Schrödinger equation. The exact and explicit expression of the scattered wave packet supplies us with interesting information about the "time delay" by potential scattering in the asymptotic region. It is demonstrated that a wave packet scattered by a spin-flipping potential can give us quite a different value for the delay times from that obtained without spin-degrees of freedom.
We study the quantum entanglement produced by a head-on collision between two gaussian wave packets in three-dimensional space. By deriving the two-particle wave function modified by s-wave scattering amplitudes, we obtain an approximate analytic expression of the purity of an individual particle. The loss of purity provides an indicator of the degree of entanglement. In the case the wave packets are narrow in momentum space, we show that the loss of purity is solely controlled by the ratio of the scattering cross section to the transverse area of the wave packets.
Non dispersive electronic Rydberg wave packets may be created in atoms illuminated by a microwave field of circular polarization. We discuss the spontaneous emission from such states and show that the elastic incoherent component (occuring at the frequency of the driving field) dominates the spectrum in the semiclassical limit, contrary to earlier predictions. We calculate the frequencies of single photon emissions and the associated rates in the "harmonic approximation", i.e. when the wave packet has approximately a Gaussian shape. The results agree well with exact quantum mechanical calculat…
The revival structure of wave packets is examined for quantum systems having energies that depend on two nondegenerate quantum numbers. For such systems, the evolution of the wave packet is controlled by two classical periods and three revival times. These wave packets exhibit quantum beats in the initial motion as well as new types of long-term revivals. The issue of whether fractional revivals can form is addressed. We present an analytical proof showing that at certain times equal to rational fractions of the revival times the wave packet can reform as a sum of subsidiary waves and that bot…
The propagation of an initially Gaussian wave packet of width $Δ_0$ in a cubic non-linear Schrodinger equation with a negative coupling constant for the nonlinear term is considered . It is predicted analytically and verified numerically that for a free particle if $Δ_0$ is less than a critical value $Δ_c$, then the packet will propagate in time with linearly growing width but for $Δ>Δ_c$, the packet will start becoming narrow and cease to be a Gaussian . For a simple harmonic oscillator, we find that for $Δ_0$ smaller than a critical value, there always exist a coupling strength for which the…
We find a set of new exact solutions of a quantum harmonic oscillator, which describes some wave-packet trains with average energy being proportional to both the quantum level and classical energy of the oscillator. Center of the wave-packet trains may oscillate like a classical harmonic oscillator of frequency $ω$. Width and highness of the trains may change simultaneously with frequency $2 ω$ as an array of breathers. Under some perturbations the wave-packet trains could transit between the states of different quantum numbers. We demonstrate analytically and numerically that the wave-packet …
The stationary phase method is often employed for computing tunneling {\em phase} times of analytically-continuous {\em gaussian} or infinite-bandwidth step pulses which collide with a potential barrier. The indiscriminate utilization of this method without considering the barrier boundary effects leads to some misconceptions in the interpretation of the phase times. After reexamining the above barrier diffusion problem where we notice the wave packet collision necessarily leads to the possibility of multiple reflected and transmitted wave packets, we study the phase times for tunneling/reflec…
We study the expansion of an initially strongly confined wave packet in a one-dimensional weak random potential with short correlation length. At long times, the expansion of the wave packet comes to a halt due to destructive interferences leading to Anderson localization. We develop an analytical description for the disorder-averaged localized density profile. For this purpose, we employ the diagrammatic method of Berezinskii which we extend to the case of wave packets, present an analytical expression of the Lyapunov exponent which is valid for small as well as for high energies and, finally…
The quantum shutter approach to tunneling time scales (G. Garc\'{ı}a-Calderón and A. Rubio, Phys. Rev. A \textbf{55}, 3361 (1997)), which uses a cutoff plane wave as the initial condition, is extended in such a way that a certain type of wave packet can be used as the initial condition. An analytical expression for the time evolved wave function is derived. The time-domain resonance, the peaked structure of the probability density (as the function of time) at the exit of the barrier, originally found with the cutoff plane wave initial condition, is studied with the wave packet initial conditio…
We find an exact analytical solution of the reduced density matrix from the Feynman-Vernon influence functional theory for a wave packet influenced by an environment containing a few discrete modes. We obtain two intrinsic energy scales relating to the time scales of the system and the environment. Different relationship between these two scales alters the overall form of the solution of the system. We also introduce a decoherence measure for a single wave packet which is defined as the ratio of Schrödinger uncertainty over the delocalization extension of the wave packet and characterizes the …
We present a method to calculate exact dynamics of a wave-packet in a quantum two-state problem with Dirac delta coupling. The advantage of our method is that the calculations are done in the time domain. Hence inverting the solutions from other domains (Laplace or Fourier domain) do not intervene us from presenting the solution in the time domain. The initial wave packet is considered to be a Gaussian function. The wave propagation in the quantum state is governed by time-dependent Schrödinger equation and the coupling is given by non-diagonal element in the matrix representation. We present …
We have found a new class of time dependent partial waves which are solutions of time dependent Schrödinger equation for three dimensional harmonic oscillator. We also showed the decomposition of coherent states of harmonic oscillator into these partial waves. This decomposition appears perticularly convenient for a description of the dynamics of a wave packet representing a particle with spin when the spin--orbit interaction is present in the hamiltonian. An example of an evolution of a localized wave packet into a torus and backwards, for a particular initial conditions is analysed in analyt…
We apply wave packet methods to study an ion-trap system in the strong excitation regime imposing neither the rotating wave nor the Lamb-Dicke approximations. By this approach we show the existence of states with restricted phase space evolution, as a genuine consequence of quantum interference between wave packet fractions. A particular instance of such a state oscillates between maximal entanglement and pure disentanglement between the constitute subsystems. The characteristic crossover time is very rapid making them suitable for state preparations of EPR or Schrodinger cat states. Over long…
We consider the superposition of plane waves and localized wave packets. This kind of wave function can result from a local excitation of a particle described by a plane wave. For charged particles, the wave packet means a current, the time integral of which results in an extra charge, additionally to the one carried by the plane wave. When the duration of the wave packet is too short for its details to be resolved experimentally, it is the extra charge that can be determined and analyzed for information regarding the nature of the interaction that created the wave packet. Assuming that the wa…
Recurrence behavior of wave packets in coupled higher dimensional systems and periodically driven systems is analyzed, which takes place in the realm of higher coupling/modulation strength. We analyze the wave packet dynamics close to nonlinear resonances developed in the systems and provide the analytical understanding of recurrence times.We apply these analytical results to investigate the recurrence times of matter waves in optical lattice in the presence of external periodic forcing. The obtained analytical results can experimentally be observed using currently available experimental setup…
We discuss the time development of Gaussian wave packet solutions of the quantum bouncer' (a quantum mechanical particle subject to a uniform downward force, above an impermeable flat surface). We focus on the evaluation and visualization of the expectation values and uncertainties of position and momentum variables during a single quasi-classical period as well as during the long term collapsed phase and several revivals. This approach complements existing analytic and numerical analyses of this system, as well as being useful for comparison with similar results for the harmonic oscillator an…
We derive an exact analytical solution to the time-dependent Schrödinger equation for transmission of a Gaussian wave packet through an arbitrary potential of finite range. We consider the situation where the initial Gaussian wave packet is sufficiently broad in momentum space to guarantee that the resonance structure of the system is included in the dynamical description. We demonstrate that the transmitted wave packet exhibits a transient behavior which at very large distances and long times may be written as the free evolving Gaussian wave packet solution times the transmission amplitude of…
We address the time evolution of two- and three-dimensional nonrelativistic Gaussian wave packets in the presence of a weak external potential of arbitrary functional form. The focus of our study is the phenomenon of rotation of a Gaussian wave packet around its center of mass, as quantified by mean angular momentum computed relative to the wave packet center. Using a semiclassical approximation of the eikonal type, we derive an explicit formula for a time-dependent change of mean angular momentum of a wave packet induced by its interaction with a weak external potential. As an example, we app…
We obtain time dependent $q$-Gaussian wave-packet solutions to a non linear Schrödinger equation recently advanced by Nobre, Rego-Montero and Tsallis (NRT) [Phys. Rev. Lett. 106 (2011) 10601]. The NRT non-linear equation admits plane wave-like solutions ($q$-plane waves) compatible with the celebrated de Broglie relations connecting wave number and frequency, respectively, with energy and momentum. The NRT equation, inspired in the $q$-generalized thermostatistical formalism, is characterized by a parameter $q$, and in the limit $q \to 1$ reduces to the standard, linear Schrödinger equation. T…
The broadening of one-dimensional Gaussian wave packets is presented in all textbooks on quantum mechanics. It is used to elucidate Heisenberg's uncertainty relation. The behaviour on a lattice is drastically different if the amplitude and/or phase of the wave packet varies on the scale of the lattice constant. Important examples are very narrow wave packets ot wave packets with an average velocity comparable to the maximum velocity on the lattice. Analytical and numerical results for the time dependence of wave packets on a one-dimensional lattice are presented.
The assisted tunneling of a wave packet between square one dimensional barriers is treated analytically. The tunneling rate is calculated exactly for a potential mimicking a constant electric field with arbitrary time dependence. The pole spectrum of the barriers determines the decay time. The tunneling probability is enhanced by the perturbation. The results are exemplified for a simplified model of nuclear $\ds α$ decay.
In this work we study the dynamics of free 3D relativistic Gaussian wave packets with different spin polarization. We analyze the connection between the symmetry of initial state and the dynamical characteristics of moving particle. The corresponding solutions of Dirac equation having different types of symmetry were evaluated analytically and numerically and after that the electron probability densities, as well as, the spin densities were visualized. The average values of velocity of the packet center and the average spin were calculated analytically, and the parameters of transient Zitterbe…
Classical viscid media are quite common in our everyday life. However, we are not used to find such media in quantum mechanics, and much less to analyze their effects on the dynamics of quantum systems. In this regard, the Caldirola-Kanai time-dependent Hamiltonian constitutes an appealing model, accounting for friction without including environmental fluctuations (as it happens, for example, with quantum Brownian motion). Here, a Bohmian analysis of the associated friction dynamics is provided in order to understand how a hypothetical, purely quantum viscid medium would act on a wave packet f…
We study the zitterbewegung of electronic wave packets in III-V zinc-blende semiconductor quantum wells due to spin-orbit coupling. Our results suggest a direct experimental proof of this fundamental effect, confirming a long-standing theoretical prediction. For electron motion in a harmonic quantum wire, we numerically and analytically find a resonance condition maximizing the zitterbewegung.
A novel effect of a wave packet scattering off an attractive one- dimensional well is found numerically and analytically. For a wave packet narrower than the width of the well, the scattering proceeds through a quasi-bound state of almost zero energy. The wave reflected from the well is a polychotomous (multiple peak) monochromatic and coherent train. The transmitted wave is a spreading smooth wave packet. The effect is strong for low average speeds of the packet, and it disappears for wide packets.
The phenomenon of wave packet diffraction in space and time is described. It consists in a diffraction pattern whose spatial location progresses with time. The pattern is produced by wave packet quantum scattering off an attractive or repulsive time independent potential. An analytical formula for the pattern at $t\to\infty$ is derived both in one dimension and in three dimensions. The condition for the pattern to exist is developed. The phenomenon is shown numerically and analytically for the Dirac equation in one dimension also. An experiment for the verification of the phenomenon is describ…
We propose the suppression of dispersive spreading of wave packets governed by the free-space Schrödinger equation with a periodically pulsed nonlinear term. Using asymptotic analysis, we construct stroboscopically-dispersionless quantum states that are physically reminiscent of, but mathematically different from, the well-known one-soliton solutions of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation with a constant (time-independent) nonlinearity. Our analytics are strongly supported by full numerical simulations. The predicted dispersionless wave packets can move with arbitrary velocity and can be realiz…
Atomic wave packets in optical lattices which are both spatially finite and time-dependent exhibit many striking similarities with light pulses in photonic crystals. We analytically characterize the transmission properties of such a potential geometry for an ideal gas in terms of a position-dependent band structure. In particular, we find that at specific energies, wave packets at the center of the finite lattice may be enclosed by pairs of band gaps. These act as mirrors between which the atomic wave packet is reflected, thereby effectively yielding a matter wave cavity. We show that long tra…
We propose a setup for which a power-law decay is predicted to be observable for generic and realistic conditions. The system we study is very simple: A quantum wave packet initially prepared in a potential well with (i) tails asymptotically decaying like ~ x^{-2} and (ii) an eigenvalues spectrum that shows a continuous part attached to the ground or equilibrium state. We analytically derive the asymptotic decay law from the spectral properties for generic, confined initial states. Our findings are supported by realistic numerical simulations for state-of-the-art expansion experiments with col…
We show that a wide class of quantum systems with translational invariance can host dispersionless, soliton-like, wave packets. We focus on the setting where the effective, two-dimensional Hamiltonian acquires the form of the Dirac operator. The proposed framework for construction of the dispersionless wave packets is illustrated on silicene-like systems with topologically nontrivial effective mass. Our analytical predictions are accompanied by a numerical analysis and possible experimental realizations are discussed.
We consider wave packets of free particles with a general energy-momentum dispersion relation $E(p)$. The spreading of the wave packet is determined by the velocity $v = \p_p E$. The position-velocity uncertainty relation $Δx Δv \geq {1/2} |< \p_p^2 E >|$ is saturated by minimal uncertainty wave packets $Φ(p) = A \exp(- αE(p) + βp)$. In addition to the standard minimal Gaussian wave packets corresponding to the non-relativistic dispersion relation $E(p) = p^2/2m$, analytic calculations are presented for the spreading of wave packets with minimal position-velocity uncertainty product for the la…
Brooding over bosons, wave packets and Bose - Einstein correlations, we find that a generalization of the pion-laser model for the case of overlapping wave-packets is analytically solvable with complete n-particle symmetrization. The effective radius parameter of the two-particle correlation function is reduced for low values and enlargened for high values of the mean momentum in the rare gas limiting case, as compared to the case when multi-particle symmetrization effects are neglected. These results explicitly depend on the multiplicity, providing a theoretical basis for event-by-event analy…
