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arXiv:1509.07547 · Physical Review E

Quantum diffusion of a relativistic particle in a time-dependent random potential

Reza Sepehrinia

Published Apr 9, 2015• 2 citations
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Abstract

We present a rigorous study of quantum diffusion of a relativistic particle subjected to a time-dependent random potential with δ correlation in time. We find that in the asymptotic time limit the particle wave packet spreads ballistically in contrast with the nonrelativistic case, which in the same situation exhibits superballistic diffusion. The relativistic suppression of wave packet diffusion is discussed in connection with statistical conservation laws that follow from relativistic dynamics.

DOI
10.1103/physreve.91.042109

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We present a rigorous study of quantum diffusion of a relativistic particle subjected to a time-dependent random potential with δ correlation in time. We find that in the asymptotic time limit the particle wave packet spreads ballistically in contrast with the nonrelativistic case, which in the same situation exhibits superballistic diffusion. The relativistic suppression of wave packet diffusion is discussed in connection with statistical conservation laws that follow from relativistic dynamics.
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By modelling quantum systems as emerging from a (classical) sub-quantum thermodynamics, the quantum mechanical decay of the wave is shown to simply result from sub-quantum diffusion with a specific diffusion coefficient varying in time due to a particle's changing thermal environment. It is thereby proven that free quantum motion strictly equals ballistic diffusion. The exact quantum mechanical trajectory distributions and the velocity field of the Gaussian wave packet are thus derived solely from classical physics. Moreover, also quantum motion in a linear (e.g., gravitational) potential is shown to equal said ballistic diffusion. Quantitative statements on the trajectories' characteristic behaviours are obtained which provide a detailed micro-causal explanation in full accordance with momentum conservation.
By modelling quantum systems as emerging from a (classical) sub-quantum thermodynamics, the quantum mechanical "decay of the wave packet" is shown to simply result from sub-quantum diffusion with a specific diffusion coefficient varying in time due to a particle's changing thermal environment. It is thereby proven that free quantum motion strictly equals ballistic diffusion. The exact quantum mechanical trajectory distributions and the velocity field of the Gaussian wave packet are thus derived solely from classical physics. Moreover, also quantum motion in a linear (e.g., gravitational) potential is shown to equal said ballistic diffusion. Quantitative statements on the trajectories' characteristic behaviours are obtained which provide a detailed "micro-causal" explanation in full accordance with momentum conservation.
We study the spreading of a quantum-mechanical wave packet in a tight-binding model with a noisy potential and analyze the emergence of classical diffusion from the quantum dynamics due to decoherence. We consider a finite correlation time of the noisy environment and treat the system by utilizing the separation of fast (dephasing) and slow (diffusion) processes. We show that classical diffusive behavior emerges at long times and we calculate analytically the dependence of the classical diffusion coefficient on the noise magnitude and correlation time. This method provides a general solution to this problem for arbitrary conditions of the noisy environment. The calculation can be done in any dimension, but we demonstrate it in one dimension for clarity of representation. The results are relevant to a large variety of physical systems, from electronic transport in solid-state physics to light transmission in optical devices, diffusion of excitons, and quantum computation.
Transport properties in the relativistic analog of the periodically kicked rotor are contrasted under classically and quantum mechanical dynamics. The quantum rotor is treated by solving the Dirac equation in the presence of the time-periodic delta-function potential resulting in a relativistic quantum mapping describing the evolution of the wave function. The transition from the quantum suppression behavior seen in the nonrelativistic limit to agreement between quantum and classical analyses in the relativistic regime is discussed. The absence of quantum resonances in the relativistic case is also addressed.