We express the response of a normal Fermi system to a weak external charge in terms of a one-particle Wigner distribution function which obeys a generalized transport equation valid at all temperatures. The derivation of this transport equation is closely related to the method developed by Prigogine and co-workers in nonequilibrium situations, both classical and quantum; it is based on a reclassification of the perturbation expansion of the autocorrelation formula expressing the response. The proof is greatly facilitated by the use of a suitable diagram technique which describes both the dynamical processes in the system as well as the effect of the interactions on equilibrium properties; full advantage is taken of the contraction theorem for averages over the unperturbed equilibrium ensemble.
We express the response of a normal Fermi system to a weak external charge in terms of a one-particle Wigner distribution function which obeys a generalized transport equation valid at all temperatures. The derivation of this transport equation is closely related to the method developed by Prigogine and co-workers in nonequilibrium situations, both classical and quantum; it is based on a reclassification of the perturbation expansion of the autocorrelation formula expressing the response. The proof is greatly facilitated by the use of a suitable diagram technique which describes both the dynamical processes in the system as well as the effect of the interactions on equilibrium properties; full advantage is taken of the contraction theorem for averages over the unperturbed equilibrium ensemble.
Perturbation theoretic equations for several properties of the zero-temperature many-fermion normal system are rederived from general considerations. Though none of the equations are new, some of the derivations are, and taken together they form a brief and simple summary of many-fermion relations and a basis for further investigation of the basic perturbation description of the many-fermion normal system: the Brueckner-Goldstone expansion. A "change-of-parameter" technique is then developed and employed to investigate the possible use of the true momentum density instead of the unperturbed Fermi distribution in the Brueckner-Goldstone expansion and in the Brueckner K-matrix approximation. The result is a simpler, approximate perturbation series for the interaction energy, whose accuracy for nuclear matter is estimated to be approximately \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}2 MeV. The new approximation is exact to the fourth order.
At low temperatures the De Broglie wavelength of the gas particles becomes on the order of their average separation, and the effects of their indistinguishability become important. In the absence of a phase transition in the gas, the quantum mechanical Wigner distribution function for a dilute gas of fermions or bosons satisfies the Uehling-Uhlenbeck equation. This equation satisfies an H- theorem with equilibrium solutions being ideal boson or ideal fermion distributions. Navier-Stokes equations can be derived by standard methods. A low temperature gas of weakly interacting bosons undergoes a Bose-Einstein condensation with a macroscopically occupied ground state. A different approach is required to describe the non-equilibrium processes in such a situation. A kinetic equation can be derived for the Bogoliubov excitations in the gas at very low temperatures. The associated hydrodynamic equations are the Landau-Khaltnikov, two fluid equations, and explicit expressions are obtained for the six associated transport coefficients.
We consider a nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation for particles obeying an exclusion-inclusion principle recently proposed by us and derive, within the Wigner formalism, a generalized quantum phase-space transport equation. We calculate the $\ensuremath{\Elzxh}$ expansion of this equation and study the quantum corrections, up to the ${\ensuremath{\Elzxh}}^{2}$ order, of the finite temperature Thomas-Fermi phase-space distribution. The effects and the quantitative relevance of the exclusion principle on the distribution function are considered for a system of fermionic particles in a harmonic confining potential.
The individual particle theory of many body systems was studied starting from a microscopic point of view. A technique which is equivalent to a generalized thermodynamics was used to show that, under the appropriate conditions of temperature and external field, the quasi-particle approach is correct for three very dissimilar systemsi the normal degenerate Fermi system, the metallic electron-phonon system, and the polaron. The fact that an approach like this works for such dissimilar systems emphasizes the underlying unity of the quasi-particle models. The concept that the real t~me non-equilibrium self-energy and the incoherent part of the density-density correlation function may be generated as functional derivatives of a generalized thermodynamic potential (~), together with local translational and rotational invariance and Galilean relativity, leads to a transformation from the microscopic particle density variables g«p,m,R,T) to those of the quasi-particle theory n (R,T). ~ - p- It was shown that, for zero temperature, such a ~ derivability is exact; at low temperature and for slowly varying fields, this ~ derivability is approximately true. This was shown by a procedure which is eqUivalent to an expansion in terms of the real scattering probability for quasiparticles. At low temperature and for slowly varying fields, such real scattering is very improbable and the expansion parameter is small. Perturbation theory was used only to determine the actual size of terms which, on physical grounds are necessarily small. As such, this approach is non-perturbative, depending only on properties of the exact selfenergies and correlation functions. In addition to demonstrating that the quasi-particle models are correct, information on the regions of validity for ~hese models is obtained. .As by-products of these derivations, microscopic expressions for the parameters of the quasi-particle theory and simple microscopic expressions for the currents in degenerate Fermi systems and the electron-phonon system are obtained.
The many-body linear response expressions obtained in previous papers [J. Math. Phys. 19, 1345 (1978); 20, 2573 (1979)] are applied to systems of weakly interacting particles. General expressions for the susceptibility and conductivity in such systems are obtained. The diagonal parts depend on the scattering processes, for which we consider interactions with bosons with mass and electron-phonon interaction. For elastic collisions simple closed forms result. For general two-body collisions, the closed expressions are cumbersome, except when the current is due to collisional current through localized states, such as Landau orbits; in that event a generalized Adams-Holstein result is obtained. The nondiagonal electrical conductivity is shown to be of paramount importance for the quantum mechanical Hall effect. We also derive quantum mechanical Boltzmann equations, both for the diagonal occupancy operator 〈nζ〉t and for the nondiagonal operator 〈c+ζ′ cζ\〉t. The total Boltzmann equation is shown to be fully equivalent with the linear response results. Finally, in the last part we derive the Boltzmann equation for the Wigner function of inhomogeneous systems. In the classical limit this yields the usual Boltzmann transport equation. This equation has therefore been obtained by first principles from the von Neumann equation.
The method of the nonequilibrium statistical operator developed by D. N. Zubarev is employed to analyze and derive generalized transport and kinetic equations. The degrees of freedom in solids can often be represented as a few interacting subsystems (electrons, spins, phonons, nuclear spins, etc.). Perturbation of one subsystem may produce a nonequilibrium state which is then relaxed to an equilibrium state due to the interaction between particles or with a thermal bath. The generalized kinetic equations were derived for a system weakly coupled to a thermal bath to elucidate the nature of transport and relaxation processes. It was shown that the "collision term" had the same functional form as for the generalized kinetic equations for the system with small interactions among particles. The applicability of the general formalism to physically relevant situations is investigated. It is shown that some known generalized kinetic equations (e.g. kinetic equation for magnons, Peierls equation for phonons) naturally emerges within the NSO formalism. The relaxation of a small dynamic subsystem in contact with a thermal bath is considered on the basis of the derived equations. The Schrödinger-type equation for the average amplitude describing the energy shift and damping of a particle in a thermal bath and the coupled kinetic equation describing the dynamic and statistical aspects of the motion are derived and analyzed. The equations derived can help in the understanding of the origin of irreversible behavior in quantum phenomena.