A powerful method for calculating the eigenvalues of a Hamiltonian operator consists of converting the energy eigenvalue equation into a matrix equation by means of an appropriate basis set of functions. The convergence of the method can be greatly improved by means of a variational parameter in the basis functions determined by the principle of minimal sensitivity. In the case of the quartic anharmonic oscillator and of a symmetrical double-well potential we choose an effective oscillator frequency. In the case of nonsymmetrical potential we add a coordinate shift in a two-parameter variational calculation. The method not only gives the spectrum, but also an approximation to the energy eigenfunctions. Consequently it can be used to solve the time-dependent Schrödinger equation using the method of stationary states. We apply it to the time development of two different initial wave functions in the double-well slow roll potential.
We analyze quantum mechanical systems using the non-perturbative renormalization group (NPRG). The NPRG method enables us to calculate quantum corrections systematically and is very effective for studying non-perturbative dynamics. We start with anharmonic oscillators and proceed to asymmetric double well potentials, supersymmetric quantum mechanics and many particle systems.
The difficulty that the probabilities infinitely increase with time as time is long enough in time-dependent perturbation theory for some quantum systems is resolved by means of simply transforming the perturbative series into natural exponential functions of the re-summed perturbative series. Three exactly solvable models are taken to check our new formulation, and excellent agreements with the exact solution are achieved.
A new non-perturbative approach is proposed to solve time-independent Schrödinger equations in quantum mechanics and chromodynamics (QCD). It is based on the homotopy analysis method (HAM), which was developed by the author for highly nonlinear equations since 1992 and has been widely applied in many fields. Unlike perturbative methods, this HAM-based approach has nothing to do with small/large physical parameters. Besides, convergent series solution can be obtained even if the disturbance is far from the known status. A nonlinear harmonic oscillator is used as an example to illustrate the val…
A novel expansion -- which generalizes Magnus expansion -- of the evolution operator associated with a (in general, time-dependent) perturbed Hamiltonian is introduced. It is shown that it has a wide range of possible solutions that can be fitted according to computational convenience. The time-independent and the adiabatic case are studied in detail.
Conventionally, perturbative and non-perturbative calculations are performed independently. In this paper, valleys in the configuration space in quantum mechanics are investigated as a way to treat them in a unified manner. All the known results of the interplay of them are reproduced naturally. The prescription for separating the non-perturbative contribution from the perturbative is given in terms of the analytic continuation of the valley parameter. Our method is illustrated on a new series of examples with the asymmetric double-well potential. We obtain the non-perturbative part explicitly…
We analyze perturbative dynamics of a composite system consisting of a quantum mechanical system and an environment by the renormalization group (RG) method. The solution obtained from the RG method has no secular terms and approximates the exact solution for a long time interval. Moreover, the RG method causes a reduction of the dynamics of the composite system under some assumptions. We show that this reduced dynamics is closely related to a quantum master equation for the quantum mechanical system. Then, we compare this dynamics with the exact dynamics in an exactly solvable spin-boson mode…
Pöschl-Teller-driven solutions for quantum mechanical fluctuations are triggered off by single scalar field theories obtained through a systematic perturbative procedure for generating deformed defects. The analytical properties concerning the quantum fluctuations in one-dimension, zero-mode states, first- and second- excited states, and energy density profiles are all obtained from deformed topological and non-topological structures supported by real scalar fields. Results are firstly derived from an integrated $λϕ^4$ theory, with corresponding generalizations applied to starting $λχ^4$ and {…
We formulate a systematic algorithm for constructing a whole class of Hermitian position-dependent-mass Hamiltonians which, to lowest order of perturbation theory, allow a description in terms of PT-symmetric Hamiltonians. The method is applied to the Hermitian analogue of the PT-symmetric cubic anharmonic oscillator. A new example is provided by a Hamiltonian (approximately) equivalent to a PT-symmetric extension of the one-parameter trigonometric Poschl-Teller potential.
The aim of this work is to show how Einstein's quantum hypothesis leads immediately and necessarily to a departure from classical mechanics. First we note that the classical description and predictions are in terms of idealized measurements that are exact, instantaneous, non-perturbative, independent of each other and process agnostic. If we assume we cannot arbitrarily reduce the strength of a signal, measurements are ultimately perturbative to some degree. We show how a physical description in which the best measurement conceivable, i.e. the ideal measurement, perturbs the system leads to al…
This work develops a new method to calculate non-perturbative corrections in one-dimensional Quantum Mechanics, based on trans-series solutions to the refined holomorphic anomaly equations of topological string theory. The method can be applied to traditional spectral problems governed by the Schrödinger equation, where it both reproduces and extends the results of well-established approaches, such as the exact WKB method. It can be also applied to spectral problems based on the quantization of mirror curves, where it leads to new results on the trans-series structure of the spectrum. Various …
We present a systematic method to implement a perturbative Hamiltonian diagonalization based on the time-dependent Schrieffer-Wolff transformation. Applying our method to strong parametric interactions we show how, even in the dispersive regime, full Rabi model physics is essential to describe the dressed spectrum. Our results unveil several qualitatively new results including realization of large energy-level shifts, tunable in magnitude and sign with the frequency and amplitude of the pump mediating the parametric interaction. Crucially Bloch-Siegert shifts, typically thought to be important…
A new non-perturbative method of solution of the nonlinear Heisenberg equations in the finite-dimensional subspace is illustrated. The method, being a counterpart of the traditional Schrodinger picture method, is based on a finite operator expansion into the elementary processes. It provides us with the insight into the nonlinear quantal interaction from the different point of view. Thus one can investigate the nonlinear system in both pictures of quantum mechanics.
We extend the "gauge choice" problem Lamb noticed to include a time-dependent relativistic non-perturbative Coulomb field, which can be produced by a cluster of relativistic charged particles. If adiabatic conditions are carefully maintained, such a field must be included along side the nuclear Coulomb potential when defining the atomic state. We reveal that when taking the external field approximation, the gauge choice for this time-dependent relativistic non-perturbative Coulomb field cannot be overcome by previous method, and leads to considerable gauge-dependence of the transient spontaneo…
The well-known supersymmetric constructions such as Witten's supersymmetric quantum mechanics, Spiridonov-Rubakov parasupersymmetric quantum mechanics, and higher-derivative SUSY of Andrianov et al. are extended to the nonstationary Schrödinger equation. All these constructions are based on the time-dependent Darboux transformation. The superalgebra over the conventional Lie algebra is constructed. Examples of time-dependent exactly solvable potentials are given.
After revealing difficulties of the standard time-dependent perturbation theory in quantum mechanics mainly from the viewpoint of practical calculation, we propose a new quasi-canonical perturbation theory. In the new theory, the dynamics of physical observables, instead of that of coefficients of wave-function expansion, is formulated so that the gauge-invariance and correspondence principles are observed naturally.
Parasupersymmetry of the one dimensional time-dependent Schrödinger equation is established. It is intimately connected with a chain of the time-dependent Darboux transformations. As an example a parasupersymmetric model of nonrelativistic free particle with threefold degenerate discrete spectrum of an integral of motion is constructed.
The measurability by means of continuous measurements, of an observable $\A(t_0)$, at an instant, and of a time averaged observable, $\bar \A=1/T\int \A(t')dt'$, is examined for linear and in particular for non-linear quantum mechanical systems. We argue that only when the exact (non-perturbative) solution is known, an exact measurement may be possible. A perturbative approach is shown to fail in the non-linear case for measurements with accuracy $Δ\bar \A < Δ\bar \A_{min}(T)$, giving rise to a restriction on the accuracy. Thus, in order to prepare an initial pure state of a non-linear system,…
For time-dependent systems the wavefunction depends explicitly on time and it is not a pure state of the Hamiltonian. We construct operators for which the above wavefunction is a pure state. The method is based on the introduction of conserved quantities $Q$ and the pure states are defined by ${\hat Q}ψ=qψ$. The conserved quantities are constructed using parametrised mechanics and the Noether theorem.
A few modified textbook Rayleigh-Schrödinger perturbative representations of bound states are reviewed. They were all inspired by an adaptive re-split of the Hamiltonian, using nonstandard bases and the flexibility of normalization of the wave functions.
The non-crossing rule for the energy levels of a parameter-dependent Hamiltonian is revisited and a flaw in a commonly accepted proof is revealed. Some aspects of avoided crossings are illustrated by means of simple models. One of them shows the close relationship between avoided crossings and exceptional points.
The parity-time-reversal- ($\mathcal{PT}$) symmetric quantum mechanics (PTQM) has developed into a noteworthy area of research. However, to date most known studies of PTQM focused on the spectral properties of non-Hermitian Hamiltonian operators. In this work, we propose an axiom in PTQM in order to study general time-dependent problems in PTQM, e.g., those with a time-dependent $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric Hamiltonian and with a time-dependent metric. We illuminate our proposal by examining a proper mapping from a time-dependent Schrödinger-like equation of motion for PTQM to the familiar time-de…
A theoretical approach for a non-perturbative dynamical description of two interacting atoms in an optical lattice potential is introduced. The approach builds upon the stationary eigenstates found by a procedure described in Grishkevich et al. [Phys. Rev. A 84, 062710 (2011)]. It allows presently to treat any time-dependent external perturbation of the lattice potential up to quadratic order. Example calculations of the experimentally relevant cases of an acceleration of the lattice and the turning-on of an additional harmonic confinement are presented.
We suggest how to construct non-perturbatively a renormalized action in quantum mechanics. We discuss similarties and differences with the standard effective action. We propose that the new quantum action is suitable to define and compute quantum instantons and quantum chaos.
We propose an approximate solution of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation using the method of stationary states combined with a variational matrix method for finding the energies and eigenstates. We illustrate the effectiveness of the method by applying it to the time development of the wave-function in the quantum-mechanical version of the inflationary slow-roll transition.
We provide a squeeze-like transformation that allows one to remove a position dependent mass from the Hamiltonian. Methods to solve the Schrödinger equation may then be applied to find the respective eigenvalues and eigenfunctions. As an example, we consider a position-dependent-mass that leads to the integrable Morse potential and therefore to well-known solutions.
In this work we present the simplest generic form of the propagator for the time-dependent quadratic Hamiltonian. We manifest the simplicity of our method by giving explicitly the propagators for a free particle in time-dependent electric field, forced harmonic oscillator and the Paul trap. Exact transition amplitudes and uncertainties are calculated analytically for the Paul trap and harmonic oscillator. The results show that near the instability regions very large quantum mechanical uncertainties are obtained as demonstrated in a special figure. The method is also applied to calculating the …
We present a systematic method for dealing with time dependent quantum dynamics, based on the quantum brachistochrone and matrix mechanics. We derive the explicit time dependence of the Hamiltonian operator for a number of constrained finite systems from this formalism. Once this has been achieved we go on to calculate the wavevector as a function of time, in order to demonstrate the use of matrix methods with respect to several concrete examples. Interesting results are derived for elliptic curves and periodic orbits on higher dimensional non-commutative geometries.
A supersymmetric technique for the solution of the effective mass Schrö% dinger equation is proposed. Exact solutions of the Schroedinger equation corresponding to a number of potentials are obtained. The potentials are fully isospectral with the original potentials. The conditions for the shape invariance of the potentials are discussed.
Using the Ermakov-Lewis invariants appearing in KvN mechanics, the time-dependent frequency harmonic oscillator is studied. The analysis builds upon the operational dynamical model, from which it is possible to infer quantum or classical dynamics; thus, the mathematical structure governing the evolution will be the same in both cases. The Liouville operator associated with the time-dependent frequency harmonic oscillator can be transformed using an Ermakov-Lewis invariant, which is also time dependent and commutes with itself at any time. Finally, because the solution of the Ermakov equation i…
Toy models of a non-associative quantum mechanics are presented. The Heisenberg equation of motion is modified using a non-associative commutator. Possible physical applications of a non-associative quantum mechanics are considered. The idea is discussed that a non-associative algebra could be the operator language for the non-perturbative quantum theory. In such approach the non-perturbative quantum theory has observables and unobservables quantities.
We discuss the systematic expansion of the solution of the Fokker-Planck equation with the help of the eigenfunctions of the time-dependent Fokker-Planck operator. The expansion parameter is the time derivative of the external parameter which controls the form of an external potential. Our expansion corresponds to the perturbative calculation of the adiabatic motion in quantum mechanics. With this method, we derive a new formula to calculate the irreversible work order by order, which is expressed as the expectation value with a pseudo density matrix. Applying this method to the case of the ha…
We propose a perturbative approach to determine the time-dependent Dyson map and the metric operator associated with time-dependent non-Hermitian Hamiltonians. We apply the method to a pair of explicitly time-dependent two dimensional harmonic oscillators that are weakly coupled to each other in a PT-symmetric fashion and to the strongly coupled explicitly time-dependent negative quartic anharmonic oscillator potential. We demonstrate that once the perturbative Ansatz is set up the coupled differential equations resulting order by order may be solved recursively in a constructive manner, thus …
We present a variational method which uses a quartic exponential function as a trial wave-function to describe time-dependent quantum mechanical systems. We introduce a new physical variable $y$ which is appropriate to describe the shape of wave-packet, and calculate the effective action as a function of both the dispersion $\sqrt{< \hat{q}^2>}$ and $y$. The effective potential successfully describes the transition of the system from the false vacuum to the true vacuum. The present method well describes the long time evolution of the wave-function of the system after the symmetry breaking, whi…
We study decoherence in a simple quantum mechanical model using two approaches. Firstly, we follow the conventional approach to decoherence where one is interested in solving the reduced density matrix from the perturbative master equation. Secondly, we consider our novel correlator approach to decoherence where entropy is generated by neglecting observationally inaccessible correlators. We show that both methods can accurately predict decoherence time scales. However, the perturbative master equation generically suffers from instabilities which prevents us to reliably calculate the system's t…
In quantum mechanics and quantum field theory perturbation theory generically requires the inclusion of extra contributions non-perturbative in the coupling, such as instantons, to reproduce exact results. We show how full non-perturbative results can be encoded in a suitable modified perturbative series in a class of quantum mechanical problems. We illustrate this explicitly in examples which are known to contain non-perturbative effects, such as the (supersymmetric) double-well potential, the pure anharmonic oscillator, and the perturbative expansion around a false vacuum.
Smooth composite bundles provide the adequate geometric description of classical mechanics with time-dependent parameters. We show that the Berry's phase phenomenon is described in terms of connections on composite Hilbert space bundles.
We examine several zero-range potentials in non-relativistic quantum mechanics. The study of such potentials requires regularization and renormalization. We contrast physical results obtained using dimensional regularization and cutoff schemes and show explicitly that in certain cases dimensional regularization fails to reproduce the results obtained using cutoff regularization. First we consider a delta-function potential in arbitrary space dimensions. Using cutoff regularization we show that for $d \ge 4$ the renormalized scattering amplitude is trivial. In contrast, dimensional regularizati…
We discuss a general setup which allows the study of the perturbation theory of an arbitrary, locally harmonic 1D quantum mechanical potential as well as its multi-variable (many-body) generalization. The latter may form a prototype for regularized quantum field theory. We first generalize the method of Bender-Wu, and derive exact recursion relations which allow the determination of the perturbative wave-function and energy corrections to an arbitrary order, at least in principle. For 1D systems, we implement these equations in an easy to use Mathematica package we call BenderWu. Our package e…
To lowest order of perturbation theory we show that an equivalence can be established between a $\cal PT$-symmetric generalized quartic anharmonic oscillator model and a Hermitian position-dependent mass Hamiltonian $h$. An important feature of $h$ is that it reveals a domain of couplings where the quartic potential could be attractive, vanishing or repulsive. We also determine the associated physical quantities.
Adaptive perturbation is a new method for perturbatively computing the eigenvalues and eigenstates of quantum mechanical Hamiltonians that are widely believed not to be solvable by such methods. The novel feature of adaptive perturbation theory is that it decomposes a given Hamiltonian, $H$, into an unperturbed part and a perturbation in a way which extracts the leading non-perturbative behavior of the problem exactly. In this talk I will introduce the method in the context of the pure anharmonic oscillator and then apply it to the case of tunneling between symmetric minima. After that, I will…
The aim of this article is to define a time-dependent cosmological interpretation of quantum mechanics in the context of an infinite open FLRW universe. A time-dependent quantum state is defined for observers in similar observable universes by using the particle horizon. Then, we prove that the wave function collapse of this quantum state is avoided.
This paper proposes a very simple perturbative technique to calculate the low-lying eigenvalues and eigenstates of a parity-symmetric quantum-mechanical potential. The technique is to solve the time-independent Schroedinger eigenvalue problem as a perturbation series in which the perturbation parameter is the energy itself. Unlike nearly all perturbation series for physical problems, for the ground state this perturbation expansion is convergent and, even though the ground-state energy is in general not small compared with 1, the perturbative results are numerically accurate. The perturbation …
Adaptive perturbation is a new method for perturbatively computing the eigenvalues and eigenstates of quantum mechanical Hamiltonians that heretofore were not believed to be obtainable by such methods. The novel feature of adaptive perturbation theory is that it decomposes a given Hamiltonian, $H$, into an unperturbed part and a perturbation in a way which extracts the leading non-perturbative behavior of the problem exactly. This paper introduces the method in the context of the pure anharmonic oscillator and then goes on to apply it to the case of tunneling between both symmetric and asymmet…
The derivation of the time dependent Schrödinger equation with transversal and longitudinal relaxation, as the quantum mechanical analog of the classical Landau-Lifshitz-Bloch equation, has been described. Starting from the classical Landau-Lifshitz-Bloch equation the transition to quantum mechanics has been performed and the corresponding von-Neumann equation deduced. In a second step the time Schrödinger equation has been derived. Analytical proofs and computer simulations show the correctness and applicability of the derived Schrödinger equation.
We consider a simple model of a cloud chamber consisting of a test particle (the alpha-particle) interacting with two other particles (the atoms of the vapour) subject to attractive potentials centered in $a_1, a_2 \in \mathbb{R}^3$. At time zero the alpha-particle is described by an outgoing spherical wave centered in the origin and the atoms are in their ground state. We show that, under suitable assumptions on the physical parameters of the system and up to second order in perturbation theory, the probability that both atoms are ionized is negligible unless $a_2$ lies on the line joining th…
Using the non-perturbative method of {\it dressed} states previously introduced in JPhysA, we study effects of the environment on a quantum mechanical system, in the case the environment is modeled by an ensemble of non interacting harmonic oscillators. This method allows to separate the whole system into the {\it dressed} mechanical system and the {\it dressed} environment, in terms of which an exact, non-perturbative approach is possible. When applied to the Brownian motion, we give explicit non-perturbative formulas for the classical path of the particle in the weak and strong coupling regi…
We study the dynamical Casimir effect using a fully quantum-mechanical description of both the cavity field and the oscillating mirror. We do not linearize the dynamics, nor do we adopt any parametric or perturbative approximation. By numerically diagonalizing the full optomechanical Hamiltonian, we show that the resonant generation of photons from the vacuum is determined by a ladder of mirror-field {\em vacuum Rabi splittings}. We find that vacuum emission can originate from the free evolution of an initial pure mechanical excited state, in analogy with the spontaneous emission from excited …
The non-perturbative renormalization group (NPRG) is applied to analysis of tunnelling in quantum mechanics. The vacuum energy and the energy gap of anharmonic oscillators are evaluated by solving the local potential approximated Wegner-Houghton equation (LPA W-H eqn.). We find that our results are very good in a strong coupling region, but not in a very weak coupling region, where the dilute gas instanton calculation works very well. So it seems that in analysis of quantum tunnelling, the dilute gas instanton and LPA W-H eqn. play complementary roles to each other. We also analyze the supersy…
We investigate photon pair-creation in a dispersive dielectric medium induced by the presence of a spacetime varying dielectric constant. Our aim is to examine the possibility to observe new phenomena of pair creation induced by travelling dielectric perturbations e.g. created by laser pulses by means of the Kerr effect. In this perspective, we adopt a semi-phenomenological version of the Hopfield model in which a space-time dependent dielectric susceptibility appears. We focus our attention on perturbation theory, and provide general formulas for the photon production induced by a local but a…
Using a new Bayesian method for solving inverse quantum problems, potentials of quantum systems are reconstructed from coordinate measurements in non-stationary states. The approach is based on two basic inputs: 1. a likelihood model, providing the probabilistic description of the measurement process as given by the axioms of quantum mechanics, and 2. additional "a priori" information implemented in form of stochastic processes over potentials.
We here put forward a new path-integral over Hilbert space and show that it reproduces quantum mechanics exactly. This approach works by optimizing the generating functional under a variation of the final state; it is hence an example of a future-input dependent theory. The benefit of this method is that entangled states appear in the paths directly, and the generating functional can be modified to also include wave-function collapse.
Time-dependent nonequilibrium Green's functions (TDNEGF) are shown to provide a flexible, effective tool for the description of quantum mechanical single particle scattering on a spatially localized, time-dependent potential. Focusing on numerical methods, arbitrary space and time dependence of the potential can be treated, provided it is zero before an initial time instant. In this case, appropriate version of the Dyson and Keldysh equations lead to a transparent description with clear physical interpretation. The interaction of a short laser pulse and an electron propagating initially in fre…
We exhibit two symmetries of one-dimensional Newtonian mechanics whereby a solution is built from the history of another solution via a generally nonlinear and complex potential-dependent transformation of the time. One symmetry intertwines the square roots of the kinetic and potential energies and connects solutions of the same dynamical problem (the potential is an invariant function). The other symmetry connects solutions of different dynamical problems (the potential is a scalar function). The existence of corresponding conserved quantities is examined using Noethers theorem and it is show…
