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Acta Physica Sinica

QUANTUM MECHANICAL TREATMENT OF A DAMPED HARMONIC OSCILLATOR

PENG HUAN-WU, 中国科学院理论物理研究所

Published Jan 1, 1980• 19 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Assuming a damping force proportional to the velocity, it is shown that the usual quantum condition between the physical variables, namely the displacement and the momentum, has to be modified by the damping. However, it is possible to change to new variables which are canonical. Then we can apply the usual quantum mechanics and use the usual physical interpretation through the statistical average values. The case of a one-dimensional damped harmonic oscillator under the action of an arbitrary external force has been worked out as an example. No difficulty arises and the results are reasonable.

DOI
10.7498/aps.29.1084

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Assuming a damping force proportional to the velocity, it is shown that the usual quantum condition between the physical variables, namely the displacement and the momentum, has to be modified by the damping. However, it is possible to change to new variables which are canonical. Then we can apply the usual quantum mechanics and use the usual physical interpretation through the statistical average values. The case of a one-dimensional damped harmonic oscillator under the action of an arbitrary external force has been worked out as an example. No difficulty arises and the results are reasonable.
We have analysed the quantization schemes presented in references [1, 2] for a damped harmonic oscillator and found out that there are some defects in volved in these schemes. In order to remedy these defects, we assume the coordinate system fluctuating with a velocity g(t) in addition to damping force f(t) proportional to the velocity and suggest a method of quantization for this system based on the full quantum theory of lasers. It is proved that the usual Heisenberg relation xp-px=ih can be maintained, but the quantum term in statistical average value of physical variable does not damp as shown in reference [1].
The usual treatment of damping forces in quantum mechanics starts from the introduction of the explicitly time dependent Kanai Hamiltonian, which actually represents a variable mass particle, and the misinterpretation of this Hamiltonian as representing a particle of constant mass leads to certain physical difficulties. However the Hamiltonian can be modified so that it can be reinterpreted as describing a constant mass particle. Here we explicitly introduce the mass as a new dynamical variable, which allows us to write a linear, time independent Hamiltonian for the system, which can be solved by conventional methods. The damped harmonic oscillator and damped free particle are treated in detail, both for the Kanai Hamiltonian and for our case, and the solutions are compared. Our solution can be reduced to the Kanai one in appropriate circumstances, but in general it has a much greater versatility, as a result of which it can be more easily reinterpreted as describing a constant mass particle subject to a damping force, which reinterpretation is of course necessary if the method is to have practical applicability. We also show how such a reinterpretation can be carried out in detail by introducing a ’’dissipation variable’’, in terms of which one may avoid the concept of a variable mass altogether.
The quantum theory of the damped harmonic oscillator has been a subject of continual investigation since the 1930s. The obstacle to quantization created by the dissipation of energy is usually dealt with by including a discrete set of additional harmonic oscillators as a reservoir. But a discrete reservoir cannot directly yield dynamics such as Ohmic damping (proportional to velocity) of the oscillator of interest. By using a continuum of oscillators as a reservoir, we canonically quantize the harmonic oscillator with Ohmic damping and also with general damping behaviour. The dynamics of a damped oscillator is determined by an arbitrary effective susceptibility that obeys the Kramers–Kronig relations. This approach offers an alternative description of nano-mechanical oscillators and opto-mechanical systems.
Abstract. The quantum theory of the damped harmonic oscillator has been a subject of continual investigation since the 1930s. The obstacle to quantization created by the dissipation of energy is usually dealt with by including a discrete set of additional harmonic oscillators as a reservoir. But a discrete reservoir cannot directly yield dynamics such as Ohmic damping (proportional to velocity) of the oscillator of interest. By using a continuum of oscillators as a reservoir, we canonically quantize the harmonic oscillator with Ohmic damping and also with general damping behaviour. The dynamics of a damped oscillator is determined by an arbitrary effective susceptibility that obeys Kramers-Kronig relations. This approach offers an alternative description of nano-mechanical oscillators and opto-mechanical systems. PACS numbers: 03.65.-w, 03.65.Yz, 03.70.+k 1.