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American Journal of Physics

Adiabatic Invariance in Simple Harmonic Motion

Leonard Parker

Published Jan 1, 1971• 7 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We show, in an elementary but apparently new way, that the ratio of the energy to the frequency of a simple harmonic oscillator is an adiabatic invariant. The adiabatic invariance is a consequence of the conservation of angular momentum in the two-dimensional system, of which the one-dimensional harmonic oscillator is the projection. We also briefly discuss the connection between the quantization of angular momentum and the quantization of the oscillator's energy.

DOI
10.1119/1.1986050

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We show, in an elementary but apparently new way, that the ratio of the energy to the frequency of a simple harmonic oscillator is an adiabatic invariant. The adiabatic invariance is a consequence of the conservation of angular momentum in the two-dimensional system, of which the one-dimensional harmonic oscillator is the projection. We also briefly discuss the connection between the quantization of angular momentum and the quantization of the oscillator's energy.
The quantization of orbital angular momentum can be introduced simply through the model of the two- and three-dimensional simple harmonic oscillator. Most of the analysis is carried out in the familiar Cartesian coordinate system in which the simple harmonic oscillator Schrödinger equation is separable. Angular momentum eigenfunctions are constructed by superposition, and the resulting functions easily transformed into spherical coordinates. The angle-dependent parts of the solutions are the spherical harmonics, which are the orbital angular momentum eigenfunctions for all central potentials including the Coulomb potential of the hydrogen atom. The method also introduces the separation of variables technique and provides practice in applying the concepts of completeness, orthogonality, superposition of states, and alternative representations.
Both the two-dimensional harmonic oscillator and the Newton potential allow particular solutions for the orbits which are ellipses with center of attraction in the center, in the first case, and in one focus, in the second. The same complex map which allows to go from Kepler’s to Hooke’s orbits, and back, is used to transform the Lenz vector, defined for the Kepler orbit, into two conserved quantities for the harmonic motion. Upon quantization, the resulting operators, together with the angular momentum Lz, are found to correspond to the generators of the SU(2) internal symmetry of the two-dimensional quantum oscillator and the connection to the Schwinger model of angular momentum is made apparent. We give a self-contained new look on this topic.
The semiclassical method based on the Einstein-Brillouin-Keller quantization of invariant phase-space tori and the hypothesis of adiabatic invariance of classical action variables is applied in the calculation of highly excited energy levels of two-dimensional coupled oscillator systems. The results obtained are in good agreement with quantum-mechanical calculations even in the regions where the corresponding classical dynamics becomes apparently irregular. General limitations of the method are discussed.
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.
The invariants for the time-dependent one-dimensional harmonic oscillator and the time-dependent two-dimensional harmonic oscillator in a static magnetic field are derived from the real representation of the exact solution to the equation of motion.Mathematically,the orthogonal functions invariant is the angular momentum of an isotropic time-dependent two-dimensional harmonic oscillator.Based on the invariants obtained here,the wave function for time-dependent two-dimensional harmonic oscillator in a static magnetic field in cylindrical coordinate is simply derived and the dynamical and geometrical phases are easily got by expressing the wave function as the superpositions of the wave functions of time-dependent two-dimensional harmonic oscillator in rectangular coordinate.