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arXiv:2605.12124

Squeezing and adiabaticity breaking in time-dependent quantum harmonic oscillators

Mattia Orlandini, Beatrice Donelli, Lorenzo Buffoni, Stefano Gherardini

quant-phcond-mat.stat-mechSubmitted May 12, 2026• Announced May 13, 2026• 0 citations
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Abstract

The quantum harmonic oscillator with time-dependent frequency is a paradigmatic model of driven quantum dynamics and one of the few nontrivial systems that admits an exact analytical solution. In this review paper, we present a unified treatment of the time-dependent oscillator based on the Lewis-Riesenfeld invariant method, Bogoliubov transformations and the Ermakov-Pinney equation. We show how these approaches naturally connect to squeezing for the description of excitations production, and to the breakdown of adiabaticity under generic frequency protocols. Exact results for sudden quenches and smooth ramps are discussed in detail. By explicitly bridging invariant methods and squeezing formalism, this review is meant to provide a comprehensive framework for understanding nonequilibrium dynamics in quadratic potentials, with applications ranging from thermodynamics and condensed matter to quantum control theory.

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In this work we present the classical and quantum solutions of time-dependent coupled harmonic oscillators. In these systems the masses, frequencies and coupling parameter (k) are functions of time. Four systems are investigated. To obtain the classical solutions we use a coordinate and momentum transformations along with a canonical transformation to write the original Hamiltonian as the sum of two Hamiltonians of uncoupled harmonic oscillators with modified time-dependent frequencies and unitary masses. We find the analytical expression for position and velocity of each oscillator of the systems. To obtain the exact quantum solutions we use a unitary transformation and the Lewis and Riesenfeld invariant method. The wave functions obtained are written in terms of a c-number quantity () which is solution of the Milne-Pinney equation. For each system we solve the respective Milne-Pinney equation and discuss how the quantum fluctuations and the uncertainty product evolve with time.
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.
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.
The harmonic oscillator with a time-dependent frequency has a family of linear quantum invariants for the time-dependent Schrödinger equation, which are determined by any two independent solutions to the classical equation of motion. Ermakov and Pinney have shown that a general solution to the time-dependent oscillator with an inverse cubic term can be expressed in terms of two independent solutions to the time-dependent oscillator. We explore the connection between linear quantum invariants and the Ermakov-Pinney solution for the time-dependent harmonic oscillator. We advance a novel method to construct Ermakov-Pinney solutions to a class of time-dependent oscillators and the wave functions for the time-dependent Schrödinger equation. We further show that the first and the second Pöschl-Teller potentials belong to a special class of exact time-dependent oscillators. A perturbation method is proposed for any slowly-varying time-dependent frequency.
In this work we present the classical and quantum solutions for an arbitrary system of time-dependent coupled harmonic oscillators, where the masses (m), frequencies (ω) and coupling parameter (k) are functions of time. To obtain the classical solutions, we use a coordinate and momentum transformations along with a canonical transformation to write the original Hamiltonian as the sum of two Hamiltonians of uncoupled harmonic oscillators with modified time-dependent frequencies and unitary masses. To obtain the exact quantum solutions we use a unitary transformation and the Lewis and Riesenfeld (LR) invariant method. The exact wave functions are obtained by solving the respective Milne–Pinney (MP) equation for each system. We obtain the solutions for the system with m1 = m2 = m0eγt, ω1 = ω01e-γt/2, ω2 = ω02e-γt/2 and k = k0.
In this work we present the classical and quantum solutions of time-dependent coupled harmonic oscillators. In these systems the masses, frequencies and coupling parameter (k) are functions of time. Four systems are investigated. To obtain the classical solutions we use a coordinate and momentum transformations along with a canonical transformation to write the original Hamiltonian as the sum of two Hamiltonians of uncoupled harmonic oscillators with modified time-dependent frequencies and unitary masses. We find the analytical expression for position and velocity of each oscillator of the systems. To obtain the exact quantum solutions we use a unitary transformation and the Lewis and Riesenfeld invariant method. The wave functions obtained are written in terms of a c-number quantity () which is solution of the Milne-Pinney equation. For each system we solve the respective Milne-Pinney equation and discuss how the quantum fluctuations and the uncertainty product evolve with time.