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arXiv:0903.0289 · Annals of Physics

The time-dependent quantum harmonic oscillator revisited: Applications to quantum field theory

Daniel Gómez Vergel, Eduardo J. S. Villaseñor

Published Mar 26, 2009• 37 citations
arXivHTMLPDF
DOI
10.1016/j.aop.2009.03.003

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Abstract In quantum mechanics courses, students often solve the Schrödinger equation for the harmonic oscillator with time-independent parameters. However, time-dependent quantum harmonic oscillators are relevant in modeling several problems as, for instance, the description of quantum motion of particles in traps, shortcuts to adiabaticity, generation of squeezed states, as well as quantum scalar fields evolving in expanding universes. In the present paper, we discuss, with a pedagogical approach, the quantum harmonic oscillator with time-dependent frequency via the Lewis–Riesenfeld dynamical invariant method, revisiting the main steps to obtain the wave function associated with this model, and briefly discussing the relation between this oscillator and the generation of squeezed states. As examples of didactic applications of time-dependent harmonic oscillators and the Lewis–Riesenfeld method in quantum mechanics courses, we solve the following problems: the calculation of the transition probability associated with a harmonic oscillator which undergoes jumps in its frequency, and the analysis of the dynamics of a quantum particle in a Paul trap.
The dynamics of the harmonic oscillator, with a fluctuating, time-dependent frequency, is studied in the quantum framework. For periodic fluctuations of period \ensuremath{\tau}, it is found that the mean energy diverges exponentially in time, provided \ensuremath{\tau} falls into certain ``bands,'' centered around ``quasiresonant'' values, for which the rate of increase is maximum. In agreement with the correspondence principle, this rate is shown to coincide exactly with the one obtained for the classic oscillator, in the same conditions [Loris Ferrari, Phys. Rev. B 56, 593 (1997)]. The notion of adiabaticity has been revisited in the case of exponentially diverging mean energy. It is found that the Heisenberg form of the Hamiltonian operator can be expressed as a new effective Hamiltonian, which is still harmonic, but has exponentially diverging coefficients. It is argued that the same results hold in general (that is, without any quasiresonance condition) if the frequency fluctuation in time is disordered. A brief discussion is presented about nonharmonic interactions leading to dissipative effects. Applications to real physical systems are outlined, with special reference to the electrons in a uniform and constant magnetic field, to which a small fluctuating component is added.
We analyze shortcuts to adiabaticity (STA) and their completions for the quantum harmonic oscillator (QHO) with time-dependent frequency, as well as for quantum field theory (QFT) in non-stationary backgrounds. We exploit the analogy with one-dimensional quantum mechanics, and the well known correspondence between Bogoliubov coefficients in the QHO and transmission/reflection amplitudes in scattering theory. Within this framework, STA protocols for the QHO are equivalent to transmission resonances, while STA in QFT with homogeneous backgrounds correspond to reflectionless potentials. Moreover, using the connection between particle creation and squeezed states, we show how STA completions can be understood in terms of the anti-squeezing operator.