Wigner functions play a central role in the phase space formulation of quantum mechanics. Although closely related to classical Liouville densities, Wigner functions are not positive definite and may take negative values on subregions of phase space. We investigate the accumulation of these negative values by studying bounds on the integral of an arbitrary Wigner function over noncompact subregions of the phase plane with hyperbolic boundaries. We show using symmetry techniques that this problem reduces to computing the bounds on the spectrum associated with an exactly-solvable eigenvalue problem and that the bounds differ from those on classical Liouville distributions. In particular, we show that the total ``quasiprobability'' on such a region can be greater than 1 or less than zero.
The Wigner function shares several properties with classical distribution functions on phase space, but is not positive-definite. The integral of the Wigner function over a given region of phase space can therefore lie outside the interval [0,1]. The problem of finding best-possible upper and lower bounds for a given region is the problem of finding the greatest and least eigenvalues of an associated Hermitian operator. Exactly solvable examples are described, and possible extensions are indicated.
We consider quantum phase-space dynamics using Wigner's representation of quantum mechanics. We stress the usefulness of the integral form for the description of Wigner's phase-space current~$\bm J$ as an alternative to the popular Moyal bracket. The integral form brings out the symmetries between momentum and position representations of quantum mechanics, is numerically stable, and allows us to perform some calculations using elementary integrals instead of Groenewold star products. Our central result is an explicit, elementary proof which shows that only systems up to quadratic in their pote…
The Wigner function is known to evolve classically under the exclusive action of a quadratic hamiltonian. If the system does interact with the environment through Lindblad operators that are linear functions of position and momentum, we show that the general evolution is the convolution of the classically evolving Wigner function with a phase space gaussian that broadens in time. We analyze the three generic cases of elliptic, hyperbolic and parabolic Hamiltonians. The Wigner function always becomes positive in a definite time, which is shortest in the hyperbolic case. We also derive an exact …
The Wigner function W(q,p) is formulated as a phase-space path integral, whereby its sign oscillations can be seen to follow from interference between the geometrical phases of the paths. The approach has similarities to the path-centroid method in the configuration-space path integral. Paths can be classified by the mid-point of their ends; short paths where the mid-point is close to (q,p) and which lie in regions of low energy (low P function of the Hamiltonian) will dominate, and the enclosed area will determine the sign of the Wigner function. As a demonstration, the method is applied to a…
The integral of the Wigner function over a subregion of the phase-space of a quantum system may be less than zero or greater than one. It is shown that for systems with one degree of freedom, the problem of determining the best possible upper and lower bounds on such an integral, over all possible states, reduces to the problem of finding the greatest and least eigenvalues of an hermitian operator corresponding to the subregion. The problem is solved exactly in the case of an arbitrary elliptical region. These bounds provide checks on experimentally measured quasiprobability distributions.
We study the scattering produced by a one dimensional hyperbolic step potential, which is exactly solvable and shows an unusual interest because of its asymmetric character. The analytic continuation of the scattering matrix in the momentum representation has a branch cut and an infinite number of simple poles on the negative imaginary axis which are related with the so called anti-bound states. This model does not show resonances. Using the wave functions of the anti-bound states, we obtain supersymmetric (SUSY) partners which are the series of Rosen Morse II potentials. We have computed the …
The integral of the Wigner function of a quantum mechanical system over a region or its boundary in the classical phase plane, is called a quasiprobability integral. Unlike a true probability integral, its value may lie outside the interval [0,1]. It is characterized by a corresponding selfadjoint operator, to be called a region or contour operator as appropriate, which is determined by the characteristic function of that region or contour. The spectral problem is studied for commuting families of region and contour operators associated with concentric disks and circles of given radius a. Thei…
By using the localized character of canonical coherent states, we give a straightforward derivation of the Bargmann integral representation of Wigner function (W). A non-integral representation is presented in terms of a quadratic form V*FV, where F is a self-adjoint matrix whose entries are tabulated functions and V is a vector depending in a simple recursive way on the derivatives of the Bargmann function. Such a representation may be of use in numerical computations. We discuss a relation involving the geometry of Wigner function and the spacial uncertainty of the coherent state basis we us…
For Dirac equation, operator-invariants containing explicit time-dependence in parallel to known time-dependent invariants of nonrelativistic Schrödinger equation are introduced and discussed. As an example, a free Dirac particle is considered and new invariants are constructed for it. The integral of motion, which is initial Newton-Wigner position operator, is obtained explicitly for a free Dirac particle. For such particle with kick modeled by delta-function of time, the time-depending integral, which has physical meaning of initial momentum, is found.
The Lindblad equation governs general markovian evolution of the density operator in an open quantum system. An expression for the rate of change of the Wigner function as a sum of integrals is one of the forms of the Weyl representation for this equation. The semiclassical description of the Wigner function in terms of chords, each with its classically defined amplitude and phase, is thus inserted in the integrals, which leads to an explicit differential equation for the Wigner function. All the Lindblad operators are assumed to be represented by smooth phase space functions corresponding to …
Starting from Feynman's Lagrangian description of quantum mechanics, we propose a method to construct explicitly the propagator for the Wigner distribution function of a single system. For general quadratic Lagrangians, only the classical phase space trajectory is found to contribute to the propagator. Inspired by Feynman's and Vernon's influence functional theory we extend the method to calculate the propagator for the reduced Wigner function of a system of interest coupled to an external system. Explicit expressions are obtained when the external system consists of a set of independent harmo…
The relation of the Wigner function with the fair probability distribution called tomographic distribution or quantum tomogram associated with the quantum state is reviewed. The connection of the tomographic picture of quantum mechanics with the integral Radon transform of the Wigner quasidistribution is discussed. The Wigner--Moyal equation for the Wigner function is presented in the form of kinetic equation for the tomographic probability distribution both in quantum mechanics and in the classical limit of the Liouville equation. The calculation of moments of physical observables in terms of…
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 \emph{pair} of classical trajectories, indicating how quantum coherences are to be propagated semiclassically in phase space. The phase-space path-integral…
In this paper I discuss by means of path integrals the quantum dynamics of a charged particle on the hyperbolic plane under the influence of an Aharonov-Bohm gauge field. The path integral can be solved in terms of an expansion of the homotopy classes of paths. I discuss the interference pattern of scattering by an Aharonov-Bohm gauge field in the flat space limit, yielding a characteristic oscillating behavior in terms of the field strength. In addition, the cases of the isotropic Higgs-oscillator and the Kepler-Coulomb potential on the hyperbolic plane are shortly sketched.
We propose a Wigner quasiprobability distribution function for Hamiltonian systems in spaces of constant curvature --in this paper on hyperboloids--, which returns the correct marginals and has the covariance of the Shapiro functions under SO(D,1) transformations. To the free systems obeying the Laplace-Beltrami equation on the hyperboloid, we add a conic-oscillator potential in the hyperbolic coordinate. As an example, we analyze the 1-dimensional case on a hyperbola branch, where this conic-oscillator is the Poschl-Teller potential. We present the analytical solutions and plot the computed r…
On the basis of the phase states, we present the correct integral expressions of the two number-phase Wigner functions discovered so far. These correct forms are derived from those defined in the extended Fock space with negative number states. The analogous conditions to Wigner's original ones cannot lead to the number-phase function uniquely. To show this fact explicitly, we propose another function satisfying all these conditions. It is also shown that the ununiqueness of the number-phase Wigner function result from the phase-periodicity problem.
Wigner distribution function has much importance in quantum statistical mechanics. It finds applications in various disciplines of physics including condense matter, quantum optics, to name but a few. Wigner distribution function is introduced by E. Wigner in 1932. However, there is no analytical derivation of Wigner distribution function in the literatures, to date. In this paper, a simple analytical derivation of Wigner distribution function is presented. Our derivation is based on two assumptions, these are A) by taking the integral of Wigner distribution function, with respect to configura…
Phase space reflection operators lie at the core of the Wigner-Weyl representation of density operators and observables. The role of the corresponding classical reflections is known in the construction of semiclassical approximations to Wigner functions of pure eigenstates and their coarsegrained microcanonical superpositions, which are not restricted to classically integrable systems. In their active role as unitary operators, they generate transitions between pairs of eigenstates specified by transition Wigner functions (or cross-Wigner functions): The square modulus of the transition Wigner…
We consider a set of operators hat{x}=(hat{x}_1,..., hat{x}_N) with diagonal representatives P(n) in the space of generalized coherent states |n>; hat{x}=int dn P(n) |n><n|. We regularize the coherent-state path integral as a limit of a sequence of averages <.>_L over polygonal paths with L vertices {n_1...L}. The distribution of the path centroid bar{P}=(1/L) sum_{i=1}^{L}P(n_i) tends to the Wigner function W(x), the joint distribution for the operators: W(x)=lim_{L->infinity} <delta(x-bar{P})>_{L}. This result is proved in the case where the Hamiltonian commutes with hat{x}. The Wigner funct…
We study the high-temperature behavior of quantum-mechanical path integrals. Starting from the Feynman-Kac formula, we derive a new functional representation of the Wigner-Kirkwood perturbation expansion for quantum Boltzmann densities. As shown by its applications to different potentials, the presented expansion turns out to be quite efficient in generating analytic form of the higher-order expansion coefficients. To put some flesh on the bare bones we apply the expansion to obtain basic thermodynamic functions of the one-dimensional anharmonic oscillator. Further salient issues, such as gene…
This article has to do with the derivation and solution of the Fokker--Planck equation associated to the momentum-independent Wigner function, of a particle subjected to a harmonic external field and immersed in a ohmic thermal bath of quantum harmonic oscillators. The strategy employed is a simplified version of the phenomenological approach of Schramm, Jung and Grabert of interpreting the operators as c-numbers to derive the adjoint equation arising from a twofold transformation of the Wigner function of the entire phase space. The statistical properties of the random noise comes from the in…
We employ the Wigner function formalism to simulate partially coherent, dissipative electron transport in biased semiconductor superlattices. We introduce a model collision integral with terms that describe energy dissipation, momentum relaxation, and the decay of spatial coherences (localization). Based on a particle-based solution to the Wigner transport equation with the model collision integral, we simulate quantum electronic transport at 10 K in a GaAs/AlGaAs superlattice and accurately reproduce its current density vs field characteristics obtained in experiment.
The Wigner phase-space distribution function provides the basis for Moyal's deformation quantization alternative to the more conventional Hilbert space and path integral quantizations. General features of time-independent Wigner functions are explored here, including the functional ("star") eigenvalue equations they satisfy; their projective orthogonality spectral properties; their Darboux ("supersymmetric") isospectral potential recursions; and their canonical transformations. These features are illustrated explicitly through simple solvable potentials: the harmonic oscillator, the linear pot…
A well known result of P. Flandrin states that a Gaussian uniquely maximizes the integral of the Wigner distribution over every centered disc in the phase plane. While there is no difficulty in generalizing this result to higher-dimensional poly-discs, the generalization to balls is less obvious. In this note we provide such a generalization.
The equation of motion for the reduced Wigner function of a system coupled to an external quantum system is presented for the specific case when the external quantum system can be modeled as a set of harmonic oscillators. The result is derived from the Wigner function formulation of the Feynman-Vernon influence functional theory. It is shown how the true self-energy for the equation of motion is connected with the influence functional for the path integral. Explicit expressions are derived in terms of the bare Wigner propagator. Finally, we show under which approximations the resulting equatio…
Using the quadrature bases that incorporate the spatiotemporal degrees of freedom, we develop a Wigner functional theory for quantum optics, as an extension of the Moyal formalism. Since the spatiotemporal quadrature bases span the complete Hilbert space of all quantum optical states, it does not require factorization as a tensor product of discrete Hilbert spaces. The Wigner functions associated with such a space become functionals and operations are expressed by functional integrals -- the functional version of the star product. The resulting formalism enables tractable calculations for scen…
In this paper the path integral technique is applied to the quantum motion on the Hermitian hyperbolic space HH(2). The Schrödinger equation on this space separates in 12 coordinate systems which are closely related to the coordinate systems on the two-dimensional hyperboloid. For six coordinate systems out of the twelve it is possible to find a path integral solution.
A gauge-invariant Wigner quantum mechanical theory is obtained by applying the Weyl-Stratonovich transform to the von Neumann equation for the density matrix. The transform reduces to the Weyl transform in the electrostatic limit, when the vector potential and thus the magnetic field are zero. Both cases involve a center-of-mass transform followed by a Fourier integral on the relative coordinate introducing the momentum variable. The latter is continuous if the limits of the integral are infinite or, equivalently, the coherence length is infinite. However, the quantum theory involves Fourier t…
In this paper we give an overview over some aspects of the modern mathematical theory of Ruelle resonances for chaotic, i.e. uniformly hyperbolic, dynamical systems and their implications in physics. First we recall recent developments in the mathematical theory of resonances, in particular how invariant Ruelle distributions arise as residues of weighted zeta functions. Then we derive a correspondence between weighted and semiclassical zeta functions in the setting of negatively curved surfaces. Combining this with results of Hilgert, Guillarmou and Weich yields a high frequency interpretation…
Path-Integral Formulation of Bosonic Markovian Open Quantum Dynamics with Monte Carlo stochastic trajectories using the Glauber-Sudarshan P, Wigner, and Husimi Q Functions and Hybrids
Path integral formulation of finite-dimensional quantum mechanics in discrete phase space
guane Enterprises, R+D+I Unit（guane企业研发创新部）；Grupo de Física Atómica y Molecular, Instituto de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Antioquia UdeA（安第斯大学自然科学学院物理研究所原子与分子物理组）
We establish the difference between the propagation of semiclassical Wigner functions and classical Liouville propagation. First we re-discuss the semiclassical limit for the propagator of Wigner functions, which on its own leads to their classical propagation. Then, via stationary phase evaluation of the full integral evolution equation, using the semiclassical expressions of Wigner functions, we provide the correct geometrical prescription for their semiclassical propagation. This is determined by the classical trajectories of the tips of the chords defined by the initial semiclassical Wigne…
