The close connection between the Jacobi function for a velocity-dependent dissipative system and the nonlinear Schrödinger–Langevin equation is used to study some of the features of the latter equation. Starting with the Hamiltonian for a classical system, different forms of the Jacobi generating function are obtained. With the help of these, corresponding solutions of the nonlinear wave equation are studied. It is found that the solution of the wave equation is not unique, and that it admits quasi-stationary, decaying, and asymptotically stationary solutions. Since this nonlinear wave equation is derivable from a classical generating function, it preserves some of the characteristic properties of the linear quantum theory. Among these are: (a) the lack of any correlation between noninteracting particles moving in a viscous medium, (b) the gauge independence of the observable quantities, and (c) the constancy of the density of states in phase space. This discussion can also be extended to the problem of quantal description of a harmonically bound radiating electron.
The close connection between the Jacobi function for a velocity-dependent dissipative system and the nonlinear Schrödinger–Langevin equation is used to study some of the features of the latter equation. Starting with the Hamiltonian for a classical system, different forms of the Jacobi generating function are obtained. With the help of these, corresponding solutions of the nonlinear wave equation are studied. It is found that the solution of the wave equation is not unique, and that it admits quasi-stationary, decaying, and asymptotically stationary solutions. Since this nonlinear wave equation is derivable from a classical generating function, it preserves some of the characteristic properties of the linear quantum theory. Among these are: (a) the lack of any correlation between noninteracting particles moving in a viscous medium, (b) the gauge independence of the observable quantities, and (c) the constancy of the density of states in phase space. This discussion can also be extended to the problem of quantal description of a harmonically bound radiating electron.
A classical many-body problem composed of an infinite number of mass points coupled together by springs is quantized. The masses and the spring constants in this system are chosen in such a way that the motion of each particle is exponentially damped. Because of the quadratic form of the Hamiltonian, the many-body wave function of the system can be written as a product of two terms: a time-dependent phase factor which contains correlations between the classical motions of the particles, and a stationary state solution of the Schrödinger equation. By assuming a Hartree type wave function for the many-particle Schrödinger equation, the contribution of the time-dependent part to the single particle wave function is determined, and it is shown that the time-dependent wave function of each mass point satisfies the nonlinear Schrödinger–Langevin equation. The characteristic decay time of any part of the subsystem, in this model, is related to the stiffness of the springs, and is the same for all particles.
Based on three principles taken from empiricism we establish a new nonlinear field theory which allows us to describe frictional effects in dissipative systems with the aid of a Schrödinger-type field equation with logarithmic nonlinearity. This nonlinear field equation corresponds to the classical Langevin equation and can be interpreted in different ways, taking the view of classical undulatory theory or probabilistic theories, respectively. Because of formal similarities, calculations can be performed independently of the accepted interpretation; only the occurring quantities have to be provided with the corresponding meaning. As an example, the nonlinear field equation for the damped harmonic oscillator is solved exactly. The solutions, a wavefunction and a wavepacketlike solution, a solution with Gaussian shape, exhibit reasonable properties, contain the correct reduced frequency Ω=(ω20−γ2/4)1/2 and are different from the solutions of the undamped problem. The properties of our nonlinear friction term are discussed and compared with those of similar nonlinear friction terms used by other authors. Finally, we derive a nonlinear friction term equivalent to our logarithmic nonlinearity but involving only combinations of suitably defined operators of position and linear momentum and mean values of these operators.
Two types of Hamiltonians are investigated which describe quantum mechanically a particle moving subject to a linear viscous force under the influence of a conservative force: the conventional explicitly time-dependent one and an alternative class of nonlinear Hamiltonians. In the latter group we propose a new form. By Ehrenfest’s theorem the expectation values of the operators of physical observables correspond to the classical quantities. For all Schrödinger equations we derive and discuss wavepacket, wave, stationary, and pseudostationary solutions of force free motion, free fall, and harmonic oscillator.
The Brownian motion of a particle coupled to a heat bath can be derived from an exactly solvable many-body system. This motion is governed by the Langevin equation in Newtonian mechanics, and by an operator equation formally identical to the Langevin equation when the system composed of the particle plus the heat bath is quantized. To get this formal similarity between the classical and the quantal equations of motion of the particle, the classical dissipative system is formulated in terms of a modified Hamilton–Jacobi equation and is then quantized using the Schrödinger method. The result is identical with the Schrödinger–Langevin equation that has been obtained by quantizing the entire system and then isolating the motion of the particle. The non-linear wave equation describing the motion of a particle subject to conservative and time-dependent forces as well as frictional forces has been applied to the problems of motion of a wave-packet, and of the scattering and trapping of heavy-ions.
A new theory for the description of dissipative systems by nonlinear Schrödinger-type field equations (NLSE’s) with logarithmic nonlinearity, which has been recently developed by the authors, is applied to investigate the frictionally damped free motion and similar spatially unrestricted aperiodic problems. Wave-packet solutions as well as time-dependent wave-function solutions are derived and discussed. In the limit of vanishing friction (friction constant γ→0) these solutions turn into the well-known solutions of the respective linear Schrödinger field equation. The same applies to the mean values of position, momentum, and energy, as well as to the uncertainty product of position and momentum. For γ≠0, however, interesting new effects appear. In contrast to the linear theory the uncertainty product of position and momentum does not diverge any more for infinitely long times, t→∞, but asymptotically approaches a definite constant value which depends on characteristic parameters of the system like its mass, initial width, and friction constant γ. Another effect, the faster spreading of the Gaussian wave-packet solution compared to the linear theory, can be explained with the help of a special property of our nonlinear differential equation. In a way similar to what is usually only known for linear differential equations, the wave-packet solutions of our NLSE can be obtained by superposition of the wave functions which are individually also solutions of the same NLSE. The properties of the time-dependent superposition coefficients appearing in this connection are discussed. The extension to the corresponding three-dimensional problem as well as the differences arising in the investigation of the NLSE’s of the free fall and the motion in a constant electric field are given. Concluding, some differences are discussed which appear applying our nonlinear field theory to describe periodic or aperiodic motions, respectively.