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Journal of Mathematical Physics

Temporal evolution of instantaneous phonons in time-dependent harmonic oscillators

Zhenshan S. Yang

Published Mar 1, 2015• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We study a time-dependent harmonic oscillator based on the dynamics of instantaneous phonons, which have obvious physical meaning and direct experimental relevance. We find simple analytic solutions for an important class of evolution and identify two parameter-changing-rate regimes with qualitatively different oscillator behaviors. We show that rapid adiabatic processes are possible if the frequency and the mass of the oscillator change in opposite directions. The state vector in the Schrödinger picture is handily achieved by use of the eigenstates of the instantaneous phonon operators that are analytically known for arbitrary frequency and mass values.

DOI
10.1063/1.4914337

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We study a time-dependent harmonic oscillator based on the dynamics of instantaneous phonons, which have obvious physical meaning and direct experimental relevance. We find simple analytic solutions for an important class of evolution and identify two parameter-changing-rate regimes with qualitatively different oscillator behaviors. We show that rapid adiabatic processes are possible if the frequency and the mass of the oscillator change in opposite directions. The state vector in the Schrödinger picture is handily achieved by use of the eigenstates of the instantaneous phonon operators that are analytically known for arbitrary frequency and mass values.
Abstract In this work, we give a quantitative answer to the question: how sudden or how adiabatic is a frequency change in a quantum harmonic oscillator (HO)? We do that by studying the time evolution of a HO which is initially in its fundamental state and whose time-dependent frequency is controlled by a parameter (denoted by ϵ ) that can continuously tune from a totally slow process to a completely abrupt one. We extend a solution based on algebraic methods introduced recently in the literature that is very suited for numerical implementations, from the basis that diagonalizes the initial Hamiltonian to the one that diagonalizes the instantaneous Hamiltonian. Our results are in agreement with the adiabatic theorem and the comparison of the descriptions using the different bases together with the proper interpretation of this theorem allows us to clarify a common inaccuracy present in the literature. More importantly, we obtain a simple expression that relates squeezing to the transition rate and the initial and final frequencies, from which we calculate the adiabatic limit of the transition. Analysis of these results reveals a significant difference in squeezing production between enhancing or diminishing the frequency of a HO in a non-sudden way.
We have obtained explicit analytical formulas for the mean energy and its variance (characterizing the energy fluctuations) of a quantum harmonic oscillator with time-dependent frequency in the adiabatic regimes after the frequency passes through zero. The behavior of energy turns out to be quite different in two cases: when the frequency remains real and when it becomes imaginary. In the first case, the mean energy always increases when the frequency returns to its initial value, and the increment coefficient is determined by the exponent in the power law of the frequency crossing zero. On the other hand, if the frequency becomes imaginary, the absolute value of mean energy increases exponentially, even in the adiabatic regime, unless the Hamiltonian becomes time independent. Small corrections to the leading terms of simple adiabatic approximate formulas are crucial in this case, due to the unstable nature of the motion.
We show that a harmonic oscillator subject to a sudden change of mass produces squeezed states. Our study is based on an approximate analytic solution to the time-dependent harmonic oscillator equation with a subperiod function parameter. This continuous treatment differs from former studies that involve the matching of two time-independent solutions at the discontinuity. This formalism requires an ad hoc transformation of the original differential equation and is also applicable for rapid, although not necessarily instantaneous, mass variations.
This work studies the relationship between parametric amplification (or particle creation), adiabaticity and irreversibility in the non-quasi-static regime of a time-dependent quantum harmonic oscillator (TDHO) that evolves unitarily. We provide analytical results for the evolution of the TDHO valid for any functional value of the frequency, which enables us to monitor the behavior of the thermodynamical magnitudes in the non-quasi-static regime. In the latter, the largest modes of the energy eigenstates commonly undergo a process of spontaneous thermalization, where the concept of temperature naturally arises from the unitary evolution of the oscillator, i.e. without relation to any external source of temperature or thermal bath. As the evolution is unitary, this thermalization process can be reversible. We extend the standard definitions of quantum heat and work to account for the change in the populations of the energy levels and relate it to the diagonal entropy to obtain an effective temperature from the associated second principle of thermodynamics. The qualitative behavior of this temperature is similar to the temperature of the largest modes and is only significant in the non quasi-static region, returning to the original value T→0T\rightarrow 0T→0 afterwards. This effect is briefly analyzed in the case of a periodically driven quantum system, where the energy eigenstate mixing and the temperature grow and return to the original value periodically.
We solve the time-dependent Schrödinger equation describing a generalized harmonic oscillator in the coordinate representation with constant mass but time-dependent stiffness and correlation parameters. Exact solutions are obtained in terms of confluent hypergeometric functions or parabolic cylinder functions. The dynamics of mean energy is studied in several different regimes, including the special case of imaginary correlation parameter, corresponding to the non-Hermitian Ahmed–Swanson model. In this case, real time-dependent mean values of the Hamiltonian are obtained by using dual wave functions, evolving according to the time-dependent Schrödinger equations with the given Hamiltonian and its Hermitially conjugated partner. The adiabatic evolution is considered as one of examples.
In quantum physics the free particle and the harmonically trapped particle are arguably the most important systems a physicist needs to know about. It is little known that, mathematically, they are one and the same. This knowledge helps us to understand either from the viewpoint of the other. Here we show that all general time-dependent solutions of the free-particle Schrödinger equation can be mapped to solutions of the Schrödinger equation for harmonic potentials, both the trapping oscillator and the inverted “oscillator”. This map is fully invertible and therefore induces an isomorphism between both types of system, they are equivalent. A composition of the map and its inverse allows us to map from one harmonic oscillator to another with a different spring constant and different center position. The map is independent of the state of the system, consisting only of a coordinate transformation and multiplication by a form factor, and can be chosen such that the state is identical in both systems at one point in time. This transition point in time can be chosen freely, the wave function of the particle evolving in time in one system before the transition point can therefore be linked up smoothly with the wave function for the other system and its future evolution after the transition point. Such a cut-and-paste procedure allows us to describe the instantaneous changes of the environment a particle finds itself in. Transitions from free to trapped systems, between harmonic traps of different spring constants or center positions, or, from harmonic binding to repulsive harmonic potentials are straightforwardly modelled. This includes some time-dependent harmonic potentials. The mappings introduced here are computationally more efficient than either state-projection or harmonic oscillator propagator techniques conventionally employed when describing instantaneous (non-adiabatic) changes of a quantum particle’s environment.