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arXiv:2010.08081 · Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics

Time-dependent quantum harmonic oscillator: a continuous route from adiabatic to sudden changes

D. Martínez-Tibaduiza, Luís Barbosa Pires, Carlos Farina

Published Oct 20, 2021• 24 citations

Abstract

Abstract In this work, we give a quantitative answer to the question: how sudden or how adiabatic is a frequency change in a quantum harmonic oscillator (HO)? We do that by studying the time evolution of a HO which is initially in its fundamental state and whose time-dependent frequency is controlled by a parameter (denoted by ϵ ) that can continuously tune from a totally slow process to a completely abrupt one. We extend a solution based on algebraic methods introduced recently in the literature that is very suited for numerical implementations, from the basis that diagonalizes the initial Hamiltonian to the one that diagonalizes the instantaneous Hamiltonian. Our results are in agreement with the adiabatic theorem and the comparison of the descriptions using the different bases together with the proper interpretation of this theorem allows us to clarify a common inaccuracy present in the literature. More importantly, we obtain a simple expression that relates squeezing to the transition rate and the initial and final frequencies, from which we calculate the adiabatic limit of the transition. Analysis of these results reveals a significant difference in squeezing production between enhancing or diminishing the frequency of a HO in a non-sudden way.

DOI: 10.1088/1361-6455/ac36ba

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Harmonic oscillators with multiple abrupt jumps in their frequencies have been investigated by several authors during the last decades. We investigate the dynamics of a quantum harmonic oscillator with initial frequency ω0, which undergoes a sudden jump to a frequency ω1 and, after a certain time interval, suddenly returns to its initial frequency. Using the Lewis−Riesenfeld method of dynamical invariants, we present expressions for the mean energy value, the mean number of excitations, and the transition probabilities, considering the initial state different from the fundamental. We show that the mean energy of the oscillator, after the jumps, is equal or greater than the one before the jumps, even when ω1<ω0. We also show that, for particular values of the time interval between the jumps, the oscillator returns to the same initial state.

We show that a harmonic oscillator subject to a sudden change of mass produces squeezed states. Our study is based on an approximate analytic solution to the time-dependent harmonic oscillator equation with a subperiod function parameter. This continuous treatment differs from former studies that involve the matching of two time-independent solutions at the discontinuity. This formalism requires an ad hoc transformation of the original differential equation and is also applicable for rapid, although not necessarily instantaneous, mass variations.

Abstract Using operator ordering techniques based on Baker-Campbell-Hausdorff (BCH) relations of the su(1,1) Lie algebra and a time-splitting approach, we present an alternative method of solving the dynamics of a time-dependent quantum harmonic oscillator for any initial state. We find an iterative analytical solution given by simple recurrence relations that are very well suited for numerical calculations. We use our solution to reproduce and analyse some results from the literature to prove the usefulness of our method. We also discuss the efficiency in squeezing by comparing the parametric resonance modulation with the so-called Janszky-Adam scheme.

We study a time-dependent harmonic oscillator based on the dynamics of instantaneous phonons, which have obvious physical meaning and direct experimental relevance. We find simple analytic solutions for an important class of evolution and identify two parameter-changing-rate regimes with qualitatively different oscillator behaviors. We show that rapid adiabatic processes are possible if the frequency and the mass of the oscillator change in opposite directions. The state vector in the Schrödinger picture is handily achieved by use of the eigenstates of the instantaneous phonon operators that are analytically known for arbitrary frequency and mass values.

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.