The coordinate matrix element of the time evolution operator, exp[−iĤt/ℏ], is determined by expanding (its exponent) in a power series in t. Recursion relations are obtained for the expansion coefficients which can be analytically evaluated for any number of degrees of freedom. Numerical application to the tunneling matrix element in a double well potential and to the reactive flux correlation function for a barrier potential show this approach to be a dramatic improvement over the standard short time approximation for the propagator. Its use in a Feynman path integral means that fewer ‘‘time slices’’ in the matrix product exp[(−i/ℏ)ΔtĤ]N, Δt=t/N, will be required. The first few terms in the present expansion constitute a fully quantum version of the short time propagator recently obtained by us using semiclassical methods [Chem. Phys. Lett. 151, 1 (1988)].
A simple framework for accurate solution of a general class of one-dimensional Fokker-Planck and/or Schr\"odinger equations is presented. The main idea is representing the propagator in the form
P(x,t∣x0)=P0(x,t∣x0)exp[W(x,t∣x0)] and expanding the exponent
W in a power series in a given function of
t, where
P0 is the exact solution of a reference harmonic-oscillator problem. The expansion coefficients are analytically evaluated from recursive relations. This approach is shown to be a dramatic improvement over the standard Taylor series expansion for the propagator in that just a few terms of the present expansion are sufficient to attain a very accurate description in the whole time domain.
We describe the “Feynman diagram” approach to nonrelativistic quantum mechanics on
Rn , with magnetic and potential terms. In particular, for each classical path γ connecting points q 0 and q 1 in time t, we define a formal power series V γ (t, q 0, q 1) in
ℏ , given combinatorially by a sum of diagrams that each represent finite-dimensional convergent integrals. We prove that exp(V γ ) satisfies Schrödinger’s equation, and explain in what sense the
t→0 limit approaches the δ distribution. As such, our construction gives explicitly the full
ℏ→0 asymptotics of the fundamental solution to Schrödinger’s equation in terms of solutions to the corresponding classical system. These results justify the heuristic expansion of Feynman’s path integral in diagrams.
This is the first in a series of papers. It deals with the linked-cluster summation of the perturbation series in quantum mechanics and quantum statistical physics. In particular, a formalism is developed for calculating the matrix element of the operator
exp(+sH), where
H is the quantum-mechanical Hamiltonian operator. It is found that the matrix element may be written as an ordinary
c-number integral of a
c-number function over the phase space. This function is found by doing a linked-cluster summation of the usual perturbation series. It is in the form of an exponential of an effective Hamiltonian,
Heff, which is a function of the parameter
s and the
c-number momentum and position coordinates. We have assumed that the Hamiltonian has no spin-dependent terms. The matrix element is written in such a form that it may be used for calculating the transition matrix elements in time-dependent perturbation theory as well as for calculating the canonical partition function
ZN in quantum statistical mechanics. The former is obtained by substituting $s=\ensuremath{-}\frac{\mathrm{it}}{\ensuremath{\hbar}}$ and the latter by substituting $s=\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\beta}$. The series for
Heff depends only on the potential and is independent of the statistics. The effects of the statistics (Bose-Einstein, Fermi-Dirac, or Maxwell-Boltzmann) are all included in a certain factor multiplying
exp(sHeff). Thus we have succeeded in separating the statistical and quantum corrections. These latter arise from the noncommutativity of the position and momentum operators. The effective Hamiltonian is an infinite series. A diagrammatic technique is given for evaluating this series. It is an expansion in powers of the coupling constant and can also be expanded in powers of Planck's constant. In general, it is not possible to give a closed-form expression for
Heff. But for most practical cases it is sufficient to keep the first few powers of Planck's constant $\ensuremath{\hbar}$, because it is very small. We therefore have an entirely new method of approximation. The statistical effect may always be included exactly. No numerical estimates are made in this paper.
In this and subsequent paper [1] we develop a recursive approach for calculating the short-time expansion of the propagator for a general quantum system in a time-dependent potential to orders that have not yet been accessible before. To this end the propagator is expressed in terms of a discretized effective potential, for which we derive and analytically solve a set of efficient recursion relations. Such a discretized effective potential can be used to substantially speed up numerical Monte Carlo simulations for path integrals, or to set up various analytic approximation techniques to study properties of quantum systems in time-dependent potentials. The analytically derived results are numerically verified by treating several simple models.
In this and the subsequent paper (Balaž et al 2011 J. Stat. Mech. P03005) we develop a recursive approach for calculating the short-time expansion of the propagator for a general quantum system in a time-dependent potential to orders that have not been accessible before. To this end the propagator is expressed in terms of a discretized effective potential, for which we derive and analytically solve a set of efficient recursion relations. Such a discretized effective potential can be used to substantially speed up numerical Monte Carlo simulations for path integrals, or to set up various analytic approximation techniques to study properties of quantum systems in time-dependent potentials. The analytically derived results are numerically verified by treating several simple models.