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Journal of Mathematical Physics

Time fractional development of quantum systems

Hüseyin Ertik, Doğan Demirhan, Hüseyin Şirin, Fevzi Büyükkılıç

Published Aug 1, 2010• 35 citations
Publisher

Abstract

In this study, the effect of time fractionalization on the development of quantum systems is taken under consideration by making use of fractional calculus. In this context, a Mittag–Leffler function is introduced as an important mathematical tool in the generalization of the evolution operator. In order to investigate the time fractional evolution of the quantum (nano) systems, time fractional forms of motion are obtained for a Schrödinger equation and a Heisenberg equation. As an application of the concomitant formalism, the wave functions, energy eigenvalues, and probability densities of the potential well and harmonic oscillator are time fractionally obtained via the fractional derivative order α, which is a measure of the fractality of time. In the case α=1, where time becomes homogenous and continuous, traditional physical conclusions are recovered. Since energy and time are conjugate to each other, the fractional derivative order α is relevant to time. It is understood that the fractionalization of time gives rise to energy fluctuations of the quantum (nano) systems.

DOI
10.1063/1.3464492

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This study investigates the time-fractional Schrödinger equation (TFSE) for a free particle using the Caputo fractional derivative. The model extends the classical Schrödinger equation by incorporating memory effects through a non-integer order time derivative. By applying the Fourier transform method, an explicit solution is derived in terms of the Mittag–Leffler function, which generalizes the classical exponential evolution. The analysis reveals that the resulting dynamics are non-unitary, leading to a time-dependent total probability that deviates from the conservation property of standard quantum mechanics. Numerical illustrations demonstrate the influence of the fractional order ν on wave packet evolution and probability behavior. The results highlight the role of fractional calculus in modeling non-Markovian quantum systems and provide insight into the transition from fractional to classical dynamics as v→1. .
A time fractional quantum framework has been introduced into quantum mechanics.A new version of the space-time fractional Schrödinger equation has been launched.The introduced space-time fractional Schrödinger equation has a new scale parameter, which is a fractional generalization of Planck's constant in quantum physics.It has been shown that the presence of a time fractional time derivative in the space-time fractional Schrödinger equation significantly impacts quantum mechanical fundamentals.Time fractional quantum mechanical operators of coordinate, momentum and angular momentum were defined and their commutation relationships were established.The pseudo-Hamilton operator was introduced and its Hermicity has been proven.Two new functions related to the Mittag-Leffler function have been introduced to solve the space-time fractional Schrödinger equation.Energy of a time fractional quantum system has been defined and calculated in terms of the newly introduced functions.It has been found that in the framework of time fractional quantum mechanics there are no stationary states, and the eigenvalues of the pseudo-Hamilton operator are not the energy levels of the time fractional quantum system.A free particle solution to the space-time fractional Schrödinger equation was found.A free particle space-time fractional quantum mechanical kernel has been found and expressed in terms of the H-function.Renormalization properties of a free particle solution and the space-time fractional quantum kernel were established.Some particular cases of time fractional quantum mechanics have been analyzed and discussed.
A significant obstacle impeding the advancement of the time fractional Schrödinger equation lies in the challenge of determining its precise mathematical formulation. In order to address this, we undertake an exploration of the time fractional Schrödinger equation within the context of a non-Markovian environment. By leveraging a two-level atom as an illustrative case, we find that the choice to raise i to the order of the time derivative is inappropriate. In contrast to the conventional approach used to depict the dynamic evolution of quantum states in a non-Markovian environment, the time fractional Schrödinger equation, when devoid of fractional-order operations on the imaginary unit i, emerges as a more intuitively comprehensible framework in physics and offers greater simplicity in computational aspects. Meanwhile, we also prove that it is meaningless to study the memory of time fractional Schrödinger equation with time derivative 1 < α ≤ 2. It should be noted that we have not yet constructed an open system that can be fully described by the time fractional Schrödinger equation. This will be the focus of future research. Our study might provide a new perspective on the role of time fractional Schrödinger equation.
After introducing the formalism of the general space and time fractional Schrödinger equation, we concentrate on the time fractional Schrödinger equation and present new results via the elegant language of Fox's H-functions. We show that the general time dependent part of the wave function for the separable solutions of the time-fractional Schrödinger equation is the Mittag-Leffler function with an imaginary argument by two different methods. After separating the Mittag-Leffler function into its real and imaginary parts, in contrast to existing works, we show that the total probability is ⩽1 and decays with time. Introducing the effective potential approach, we also write the Mittag-Leffler function with an imaginary argument as the product of its purely decaying and purely oscillating parts. In the light of these, we reconsider the simple box problem.
We consider the motion of a particle under the influence of a real potential within the framework of time fractional Schrödinger equation in 1 + 1 dimensions.For the basis states we obtain a simple expression for the probability current equation.In the limit where the order of fractional derivative is close to unity we find a fluctuating probability density for the basis states.We also provide a compact expression for the time rate of change of the probability density in this case.For the special case where the order of fractional derivative is equal to 1 2 we compute the probability density.
Application of the fractional calculus to quantum processes is presented. In particular, the quantum dynamics is considered in the framework of the fractional time Schrödinger equation (SE), which differs from the standard SE by the fractional time derivative: partial differential/partial differentialt --> partial differential(alpha)/partial differentialt(alpha). It is shown that for alpha=1/2 the fractional SE is isospectral to a comb model. An analytical expression for the Green's functions of the systems are obtained. The semiclassical limit is discussed.