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The harmonic oscillator and nuclear physics

DAVID J. ROWE

Published Jan 1, 1993• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

The three-dimensional harmonic oscillator plays a central role in nuclear physics. It provides the underlying structure of the independent-particle shell model and gives rise to the dynamical group structures on which models of nuclear collective motion are based. It is shown that the three-dimensional harmonic oscillator features a rich variety of coherent states, including vibrations of the monopole, dipole, and quadrupole types, and rotations of the rigid flow, vortex flow, and irrotational flow types. Nuclear collective states exhibit all of these flows. It is also shown that the coherent state representations, which have their origins in applications to the dynamical groups of the simple harmonic oscillator, can be extended to vector coherent state representations with a much wider range of applicability. As a result, coherent state theory and vector coherent state theory become powerful tools in the application of algebraic methods in physics.

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The three-dimensional harmonic oscillator plays a central role in nuclear physics. It provides the underlying structure of the independent-particle shell model and gives rise to the dynamical group structures on which models of nuclear collective motion are based. It is shown that the three-dimensional harmonic oscillator features a rich variety of coherent states, including vibrations of the monopole, dipole, and quadrupole types, and rotations of the rigid flow, vortex flow, and irrotational flow types. Nuclear collective states exhibit all of these flows. It is also shown that the coherent state representations, which have their origins in applications to the dynamical groups of the simple harmonic oscillator, can be extended to vector coherent state representations with a much wider range of applicability. As a result, coherent state theory and vector coherent state theory become powerful tools in the application of algebraic methods in physics.
This book, the first of a two-volume set, provides a comprehensive introduction to quantum mechanics for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students entering the field of nuclear structure studies via two-state systems: both polarized photons and spin-1/2 particles. This leads to the logic behind the physical structure and an axiomatic formulation using linear spaces and operators. The one-dimensional harmonic oscillator is used to illustrate the mechanics of quantized systems, reaching to time dependence and coherent states. Measurement theory is introduced. The transformation theory of space and time leads to wave functions. The role of group theory and rotations then leads to the quantization of angular momentum. Central force problems are handled algebraically. The development is completed with quantization of motion of a charged particle in a magnetic field. Part of IOP Series in Nuclear Spectroscopy and Nuclear Structure.
The harmonic oscillator is a useful model for the interpretation of many physical phenomena. It is used as a first approximation to the vibration of molecules and crystal lattices and for the quantization of electromagnetic fields, among other applications. One can solve the time-independent Schrodinger equation for the harmonic oscillator in many different ways; operator methods give rise to recurrence relations and generating functions for the stationary states. The coordinate representation renders the coordinate operator diagonal. In this particular representation the eigenvectors of the harmonic oscillator are functions of the coordinate that are commonly expressed in terms of Hermite polynomials. The chapter shows that calculation with the eigenfunctions of the harmonic oscillator is remarkably simple in the realm of the Lie algebras. The application of the bosonic algebra in theoretical physics and chemistry is so vast that it is impossible even to give a reasonable summary. An important application of the bosonic algebra is the modeling of simple quantum-mechanical systems.
The many approaches that have been pursued in seeking an understanding of nuclear rotational dynamics are reviewed and reassessed with a view to their development in the light of recent progress and the research tools that are now available. A motivation for this review is the widespread observation of nuclear shape coexistence and sequences of rotational states in all regions of the nuclear periodic table combined with the recognition that the study of the rotational dynamics of quantum fluids has led to significant advances in the quantum theory of many-boson systems. Recent experimental investigations of the rotational dynamics of a low-temperature 6^66Li gas indicate that its slow rotational flows are likewise the irrotational flows of a superfluid. In this context, the dynamics of rotating nuclei are of fundamental interest because the nucleus is a unique zero-temperature finite many-fermion quantum system. A promising approach is provided by algebraic mean-field theory which, as its name suggests, is a combination of algebraic and mean-field methods. Static mean-field theories play a central role in many-body theory by defining optimal independent-particle and independent quasi-particle basis states for the quantum mechanics of many-fermion systems. Their time-dependent extensions also lead, in the small-amplitude random-phase approximation, to the quantisation of the classical normal-mode vibrations of many-fermion systems about their static equilibrium states. This review shows that mean-field methods become significantly more powerful when combined with algebraic methods and an appropriate coupling scheme for the nuclear shell model.
The generating function method that we had developing has various applications in physics and not only interress undergraduate students but also physicists. We solve simply difficult problems or unsolved commonly used in quantum, nuclear and group theory textbooks. We find simply: the generating function of the harmonic oscillator, the Feynman propagators of the oscillator and the oscillator in uniform magnetic field. We derive the invariants of SU(2) and the expressions of 3-j,6-j symbols. We find also the octonions or Hurwitz quadratic transformations. We show that the cross-product exist only in E3 and E7. We determine the {p} representation of hydrogen atom in three and n-dimensions. We generalize the Cramer's rule for the calculation of the rotational spectrum of the nucleus. We find the expression of the Hamiltonian in terms of quasi-bosons for study the collective vibration. We determine the basis and the expressions of 3-j symbols of SU (3) and SU(n).We find the Schrödinger equation from Hamilton-Jacobi formalism. We present these applications in independent chapters.
A theory of large amplitude collective motion of a many-particle system is presented, which is relevant, for example, to nuclear fission. The theory is a combination of techniques used in many areas of physics and mathematics. The starting point is the application of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation to generate invariant subspaces of the Hamiltonian in the Hartree–Fock approximation. This is a generalization of the group-theoretical device of generating orbits of a group in the construction of reduced representations. It is shown how solutions of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation can be expressed as instantaneous stationary states of a constrained static Hamiltonian. Thus contact is made with the traditional cranking models and constrained Hartree–Fock theories of large amplitude collective motion. The collective motion is quantized using the Hill–Wheeler–Griffin method of generator coordinates in a basis of generalized coherent states. One is thereby able to exploit much of the theory of harmonic oscillator coherent states, which have been so successfully used in the quantum theory of the laser. The resulting Schrödinger equation for the collective dynamics is expressed both in the Bargmann representation and in the more familiar Schrödinger representation. It is shown that solution of the Schrödinger equation in the small amplitude harmonic approximation reproduces the well-known RPA result. A pilot calculation for 28Si shows that application in large amplitude is also feasible.
This book explains the Lorentz mathematical group in a language familiar to physicists. While the three-dimensional rotation group is one of the standard mathematical tools in physics, the Lorentz group of the four-dimensional Minkowski space is still very strange to most present-day physicists. It plays an essential role in understanding particles moving at close to light speed and is becoming the essential language for quantum optics, classical optics, and information science. The book is based on papers and books published by the authors on the representations of the Lorentz group based on harmonic oscillators and their applications to high-energy physics and to Wigner functions applicable to quantum optics. It also covers the two-by-two representations of the Lorentz group applicable to ray optics, including cavity, multilayer and lens optics, as well as representations of the Lorentz group applicable to Stokes parameters and the Poincare sphere on polarization optics.