We derive the semiclassical series for the partition function of a one-dimensional quantum-mechanical system consisting of a particle in a single-well potential. We do this by applying the method of steepest descent to the path-integral representation of the partition function, and we present a systematic procedure to generate the terms of the series using the minima of the Euclidean action as the only input. For the particular case of a quartic anharmonic oscillator, we compute the first two terms of the series, and investigate their high and low temperature limits. We also exhibit the nonperturbative character of the terms, as each corresponds to sums over infinite subsets of perturbative graphs. We illustrate the power of such resummations by extracting from the first term an accurate nonperturbative estimate of the ground-state energy of the system and a curve for the specific heat. We conclude by pointing out possible extensions of our results which include field theories with spherically symmetric classical solutions.
Semiclassical Density Matrix Near the Top of a Barrier
利用路径积分方法,计算了在非线性势场中运动的粒子在势垒顶附近坐标系下的半经典平衡态密度矩阵。当温度降低时,在临界温度$T_c$附近,波动路径积分的谐波近似失效。这是由于在经典路径的分叉点处产生的焦散。我们提出了一个自洽的方案来处理导致非线性涨落势的大量子涨落。该过程不同于近焦散线的实时传播器使用的方法。半经典密度矩阵的情况下,从高温下到温度略低于$T_c$的非对称障碍明确确定。Pacs:03.65.Sq,05.30.- D
Recently it has been demonstrated that an ensemble of trapped ions may serve as a quantum annealer for the number-partitioning problem [Nature Comm. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms11524]. This hard computational problem may be addressed employing a tunable spin glass architecture. Following the proposal of the trapped ions annealer, we study here its robustness against thermal effects, that is, we investigate the role played by thermal phonons. For the efficient description of the system, we use a semiclassical approach, and benchmark it against the exact quantum evolution. The aim is to understand better…
The out-of-time-order correlator (OTOC), recently analyzed in several physical contexts, is studied for low-dimensional chaotic systems through semiclassical expansions and numerical simulations. The semiclassical expansion for the OTOC yields a leading-order contribution in $\hbar^2$ that is exponentially increasing with time within an intermediate, temperature-dependent, time-window. The growth-rate in such a regime is governed by the Lyapunov exponent of the underlying classical system and scales with the square-root of the temperature.
Based on the integral representation of the semiclassical propagator of Herman and Kluk (HK), and in the limit of high temperatures, we formulate a hybrid expression for the correlation function of infrared spectroscopy. This is achieved by performing a partial linearization inside the integral over the difference of phase space variables that occurs after a twofold application of the HK propagator. A numerical case study for a coupled anharmonic oscillator shows that already for a total number of only two degrees of freedom, one of which is treated in the simplified manner, a substantial redu…