A method for treating nonlinear stochastic systems is described which it is hoped will be useful in both the quantum-mechanical many-body problem and the theory of turbulence. In this method the true problem is replaced by models that lead to closed equations for correlation functions and averaged Green's functions. The model solutions are exact descriptions of possible dynamical systems, and, as a result, they display certain consistency properties. For example, spectral components of Green's functions which must be positive-definite in the true problem automatically are so for the models. The models involve a new stochastic element: Random couplings are introduced among an infinite collection of similar systems, the true problem corresponding to the limit where these couplings vanish. The method is first applied to a linear oscillator with random frequency parameter. The mean impulse-response function of the oscillator is obtained explicitly for two successive models. The results suggest the existence of a sequence of model solutions which converges rapidly to the exact solution of the true problem. Applications then are made to the Schrödinger equation of a particle in a random potential and to Burgers' analog for turbulence dynamics. For both problems, closed model equations are obtained which determine the average Green's function, the amplitude of the mean field, and the covariance of the fluctuating field. The model solutions can be expressed as sums of infinite classes of terms from the formal perturbation expansions of the solutions to the true problems. It is suggested that correspondence to stochastic models may be a useful criterion to help judge the validity of partial summations of perturbation series.
In a preceding paper [J. Math. Phys. 3, 475 (1962)], some model Hamiltonians were proposed for quantum-mechanical many-body systems with pair forces. For infinite systems in thermal equilibrium, they led to temperature-domain propagator expansions which were formally summable and expressible by closed equations. These expansions were identical with infinite subclasses of terms from the propagator expansion for the true many-body problem. The two principal models corresponded to ring- and ladder-diagram summations from the true propagator expansion, augmented by infinite classes of self-energy corrections. The model Hamiltonians were called stochastic because they contained parameters whose phases were fixed by random choices. In the present paper, more general models are formulated which yield formally summable propagator expansions for finite systems. The analysis is extended to correlation and Green's functions defined for nonequilibrium ensembles. The nonequilibrium treatment is developed in the Heisenberg representation in such a way that unlinked diagrams do not arise. A basic convergence question associated with the formal closed equations for the model propagators and correlation functions is examined by means of finite-difference integration of the Heisenberg equations of motion. This procedure appears to converge independently of whether the perturbation expansions for the propagators and correlation functions converge. It yields substantial support for the validity of the formal closed model equations.
Some model Hamiltonians are proposed for quantum-mechanical many-body systems with pair forces. In the case of an infinite system in thermal equilibrium, they lead to temperature-domain propagator expansions which are expressible by closed, formally exact equations. The expansions are identical with infinite subclasses of terms from the propagator expansion for the true many-body problem. The two principal models introduced correspond, respectively, to ring and ladder summations from the true propagator expansion, but augmented by infinite classes of self-energy corrections. The latter are expected to yield damping of single-particle excitations. The eigenvalues of the ring and ladder model Hamiltonians are real, and they are bounded from below if the pair potential obeys certain conditions. The models are formulated for fermions, bosons, and distinguishable particles. In addition to the ring and ladder models, two simpler types are discussed, one of which yields the Hartree-Fock approximation to the true problem. A novel feature of all the model Hamiltonians (except the Hartree-Fock) is that they contain an infinite number of parameters whose phases are fixed by random choices. Explicit closed expressions are obtained for the Helmholtz free energy of all the models in the classical limit.
Building upon the work of Hu, Paz, and Zhang [1,2] on open quantum systems we consider the quantum Brownian motion (QBM) model with one oscillator (position variable
x) as the system, {\it nonlinearly} coupled to an environment of
N harmonic oscillators (with mass
mn, natural frequency
ωn, position
qn and momentum
pn variables) in the form
∑n(vn1(x)qnk+vn2(x)pnl) where
k,l are integers (the present work only considers the
k=l=2 cases). The vertex functions $v_{n1}, v_{n2} $ are of the form
vn1=λCn1f(x),vn2(x)=−λCn2mn−2ωn−2f(x) where
Cn1,2 are the coupling constants with the
nth oscillator,
f(x) is any arbitrary function of
x, and
λ is a dimensionless constant. Employing the closed-time-path formalism the influence action
SIF is calculated using a perturbative expansion in
λ. It is possible to identify the terms in
SIF quadratic or higher in
Δ(s)≡f(x+(s))−f(x−(s)) to constitute the noise kernel, while terms linear in
Δ to that of the dissipation kernel. The non-Gaussian noise kernel gives rise to non-zero three-point correlation function of the corresponding stochastic force. The pathway presented here should be useful for the exploration of \textit{non-Gaussian properties of systems nonlinearly coupled with their environments}; examples in early universe cosmology and in quantum optomechanics (QOM) are mentioned. A modified fluctuation-dissipation relation (FDR) is also established, which ensures the consistency of the model and the accuracy of results even at higher perturbative orders. Another result of significance is the derivation of a nonlinear Langevin equation which is expected to be useful for many open quantum system applications.
This is the first of a series of papers dealing with many-particle systems from a unified, nonperturbative point of view. It contains derivations and discussions of various field-theoretical techniques which will be applied in subsequent papers. In a short introduction the general method of approach is summarized, and its relationship to other field-theoretic problems indicated. In the second section the macroscopic properties of the spectra of many-particle systems are described. Asymptotic evaluations are performed which characterize these macroscopic features in terms of intensive parameters, and the relationship of these parameters to thermodynamics is discussed. The special characteristics of the ground state are shown to follow as a limiting case of the asymptotic evaluations. The third section is devoted to the time-dependent field correlation functions, or Green's functions, which describe the microscopic behavior of a multiparticle system. These functions are defined, and related to intensive macroscopic variables when the energy and number of particles are large. Spectral representations and other properties of various one-particle Green's functions are derived. In the fourth section the treatment of non-equilibrium processes is considered. As a particular example, the electromagnetic properties of a system are expressed in terms of the special two-particle Green's function which describes current correlation. The discussion yields specifically a fluctuation-dissipation theorem, a sum rule for conductivity, and certain dispersion relations. The fifth section deals with the differential equations which determine the Green's functions. The boundary conditions that characterize the Green's function equations are exhibited without reference to adiabatic decoupling. A method for solving the equations approximately, by treating the correlations among successively larger numbers of particles, is considered. The first approximation in this sequence is shown to yield a generalized Hartree-like equation. A related, but rigorous, identity for the single-particle Green's function is then derived. A second approximation, which takes certain two-particle correlations into account, is shown to produce various additional effects: The interaction between particles is altered in a manner characterized by the intensive macroscopic parameters, and the modification and spread of the energy-momentum relation come into play. In the final section compact formal expressions for the Green's functions and other physical quantities are derived. Alternative equations and systematic approximations for the Green's functions are obtained.
The Schrodinger equation with Gaussian dynamic fluctuating potentials is considered. This model gives a convenient example of an open quantum system coupled to a given external environment. The evolution equations for averaged correlators are derived and it is shown that a system coupled to a thermoequilibrium environment tends asymptotically with time to a thermodynamic density matrix. At high temperatures the quantum evolution equation for the density matrix can be approximated by the quasiclassical Fokker-Planck equation. The generalisation for multiparticle systems is also given. The results are illustrated by the particular examples of coupling with phonons and of two-level systems. Finally, it is shown how the problem can be reformulated in terms of continuous stochastic evolution in the space of psi functions and a corresponding functional formalism based on the continuous Fokker-Planck equation in the space of psi functions.
The problem of nonlinear response is considered by employing a general time-evolution equation, and a Green's function which is the transition or conditional probability density for an unperturbed system. Expansion of the Green's function in terms of orthonormal functions enables us to express the distribution function describing the nonlinear behavior by means of matrix products whose elements are composed of correlation functions in the absence of the perturbation. In other words, it is shown how the distribution function induced by a strong perturbation may be calculated by knowing the Green's function without the perturbation. As the special case of the linear response, we have obtained Kubo's relation. The Laplace-transform technique with respect to time is found quite useful in developing the present theory in which the transient effect is also taken into account. As an application of the theory, a new relation valid in the region of the second-order perturbation connecting the transient rise and decay with the stationary alternating perturbations has been obtained.