We study two-dimensional quantum Gaussian packets with a fixed value of mean angular momentum. This value is the sum of two independent parts: the ‘external’ momentum related to the motion of the packet center and the ‘internal’ momentum due to quantum fluctuations. The packets minimizing the mean energy of an isotropic oscillator with the fixed mean angular momentum are found. They exist for ‘co-rotating’ external and internal motions, and they have nonzero correlation coefficients between coordinates and momenta, together with some (moderate) amount of quadrature squeezing. Variances of angular momentum and energy are calculated, too. Differences in the behavior of ‘co-rotating’ and ‘anti-rotating’ packets are shown. The time evolution of rotating Gaussian packets is analyzed, including the cases of a charge in a homogeneous magnetic field and a free particle. In the latter case, the effect of initial shrinking of packets with big enough coordinate-momentum correlation coefficients (followed by the well known expansion) is discovered. This happens due to a competition of ‘focusing’ and ‘de-focusing’ in the orthogonal directions.
We study two-dimensional quantum Gaussian packets with a fixed value of mean angular momentum. This value is the sum of two independent parts: the ‘external’ momentum related to the motion of the packet center and the ‘internal’ momentum due to quantum fluctuations. The packets minimizing the mean energy of an isotropic oscillator with the fixed mean angular momentum are found. They exist for ‘co-rotating’ external and internal motions, and they have nonzero correlation coefficients between coordinates and momenta, together with some (moderate) amount of quadrature squeezing. Variances of angular momentum and energy are calculated, too. Differences in the behavior of ‘co-rotating’ and ‘anti-rotating’ packets are shown. The time evolution of rotating Gaussian packets is analyzed, including the cases of a charge in a homogeneous magnetic field and a free particle. In the latter case, the effect of initial shrinking of packets with big enough coordinate-momentum correlation coefficients (followed by the well known expansion) is discovered. This happens due to a competition of ‘focusing’ and ‘de-focusing’ in the orthogonal directions.
We study two-dimensional quantum mixed Gaussian packets with a fixed value of mean angular momentum. Highly mixed packets, minimizing the mean energy of an isotropic oscillator with fixed mean angular momentum L, are found under the condition that the inverse purity ${\mathcal{P}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ exceeds the sum 1+2L. These states can be considered rotating thermal states. Their statistical properties (such as variances of angular momentum and energy) are studied. The case of a charged particle in a homogeneous magnetic field is considered as well.
We address the time evolution of two- and three-dimensional nonrelativistic Gaussian wave packets in the presence of a weak external potential of arbitrary functional form. The focus of our study is the phenomenon of rotation of a Gaussian wave packet around its center of mass, as quantified by mean angular momentum computed relative to the wave-packet center. Using a semiclassical approximation of the eikonal type, we derive an explicit formula for a time-dependent change of mean angular momentum of a wave packet induced by its interaction with a weak external potential. As an example, we apply our analytical approach to the scenario of a two-dimensional quantum particle crossing a tilted ridge potential barrier. In particular, we demonstrate that the initial orientation of the particle wave packet determines the sense of its rotation, and report a good agreement between analytical and numerical results.
A Gaussian wave packet confined to move on a plane perpendicular to a magnetic field remains a Gaussian wave packet in its time evolution. The average position and momentum follow the Ehrenfest equations which are identical to the classical Hamilton equations. A set of nonlinear equations decoupled from the Ehrenfest equation is derived for the parameters describing the time evolution of the density distribution and phases of a wave packet. Explicit solutions are then obtained when the “internal” angular momentum of the wave packet vanishes. In this case it is shown that the motion of the wave packet is a superposition of a translational motion, a rotation and a vibration.
We consider time-dependent Gaussian wave packet solutions of the Schrödinger equation, with arbitrary initial central position, x 0 , and momentum, p 0 , for an otherwise free particle, but with an infinite wall at x = 0, so-called bouncing wave packets . We show how difference or mirror solutions of the form ψ( x , t ) − ψ(− x , t ) can, in this case, be normalized exactly, allowing for the evaluation of a number of time-dependent expectation values and other quantities in closed form. For example, we calculate ⟨ p 2 ⟩ t explicitly which illustrates how the free-particle kinetic (and hence total energy) is affected by the presence of the distant boundary. We also discuss the time dependence of the expectation values of position, ⟨ x ⟩ t , and momentum, ⟨ p ⟩ t , and their relation to the impulsive force during the `collision' with the wall. Finally, the x 0 , p 0 → 0 limit is shown to reduce a special case of a non-standard free-particle Gaussian solution. The addition of this example to the literature then expands of the relatively small number of Gaussian solutions to quantum mechanical problems with familiar classical analogs (free particle, uniform acceleration, harmonic oscillator, unstable oscillator, and uniform magnetic field) available in closed form.
The motion of wave packets can be easily determined for any Hamiltonian that is quadratic in position and momentum, even if the coefficients of the terms in the Hamiltonian vary with time. The method is based on the existence of an invariant operator, linear in position and momentum, the coefficients of these operators being solutions of the corresponding classical system. This immediately yields a set of very simple wave packets whose evolution is easily determined, and whose magnitude has the same form as the energy eigenfunctions of the harmonic oscillator (i.e., Gaussian or Hermite–Gaussian). This set provides a complete basis for finding the evolution of any state and the exact propagator is readily determined. For the harmonic oscillator, this set includes coherent states, squeezed states, displaced number states, and squeezed number states as special cases. The following important properties hold for every quadratic Hamiltonian, no matter what time dependence is present in the Hamiltonian: (1) The motion of the centroid of any wave packet separates from that of any moments relative to the centroid. (2) Every detail of the evolution of the quantum system can be calculated from the solutions of the corresponding classical system. (3) Wave functions of Gaussian (or Hermite–Gaussian) form will retain that form as they evolve.
Nondispersive wave packets in a fictitious time variable are calculated analytically for the field-free hydrogen atom. As is well known by means of the Kustaanheimo-Stiefel transformation the Coulomb problem can be converted into that of a four-dimensional harmonic oscillator, subject to a constraint. This regularization makes use of a fictitious time variable, but arbitrary Gaussian wave packets in that time variable in general violate that constraint. The set of ``restricted Gaussian wave packets'' consistent with the constraint is constructed and shown to provide a complete basis for the expansion of states in the original three-dimensional coordinate space. Using that expansion arbitrary localized Gaussian wave packets of the hydrogen atom can be propagated analytically and exhibit a nondispersive periodic behavior as functions of the fictitious time. Restricted wave packets with and without well-defined angular momentum quantum numbers are constructed. They will be used as trial functions in time-dependent variational computations for the hydrogen atom in static external fields in the subsequent paper [T. Fab\ifmmode \check{c}\else \v{c}\fi{}i\ifmmode \check{c}\else \v{c}\fi{}, J. Main, and G. Wunner, Phys. Rev. A 79, 043417 (2009)].