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Progress of Theoretical Physics

Schwinger's Variational Principle in Quantum Mechanics with Velocity Dependent Potential. I

Toshiharu Kawai

Published Dec 1, 1972• 6 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Schwinger's variational principle is formulated for the quantum system which corresponds to the one-dimensional classical system described by the Lagrangian Lc(\dotx, x) = (M/2) f-1(x)\dotx2 - v(x). It is sufficient for the purpose of deriving the laws of quantum mechanics to consider only c-number variations of coordinate and time. The Euler-Lagrange equation, the canonical equations of motion and the canonical commutation relation are derived from the principle. All resulting relations are consistent with one another. Further, it is shown that an arbitrary point transformation leaves the forms of the fundamental equations invariant and is suitable to be called a canonical transformation. The appropriate choice of the Lagrangian operator is essential in our formulation.

DOI
10.1143/ptp.48.2082

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Schwinger's variational principle is formulated for the quantum system which corresponds to the one-dimensional classical system described by the Lagrangian Lc(\dotx, x) = (M/2) f-1(x)\dotx2 - v(x). It is sufficient for the purpose of deriving the laws of quantum mechanics to consider only c-number variations of coordinate and time. The Euler-Lagrange equation, the canonical equations of motion and the canonical commutation relation are derived from the principle. All resulting relations are consistent with one another. Further, it is shown that an arbitrary point transformation leaves the forms of the fundamental equations invariant and is suitable to be called a canonical transformation. The appropriate choice of the Lagrangian operator is essential in our formulation.
Schwinger’s variational principle is formulated for the multi-dimensional quantum system which corresponds to the classical system described by the Lagrangian Lc(\dotx,x)=(M/2)gij(x)\dotxi\dotxj-v(x). The c-number variations of coordinates and time are sufficient to give the laws of quantum mechanics. The Euler-Lagrange equation, the canonical equations of motion and the canonical commutation relations are derived from this principle and there is no inconsistency. An appropriate choice of the Lagrangian operator is essential in our formulation. It is shown that an arbitrary point transformation is entitled to be called a canonical transformation. Ambiguities in the quantal Lagrangian are also discussed.
Since the ordinary c-number variation principle does not lead, for a non-linear Lagrangian, to the result consistent between the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formalisms, Schwinger's variation principle is reformulated for a type of Lagrangian L=½\dotqigij(q)\dotqj-u(q) by means of a q-number variation. The canonical momentum, the Hamiltonian, the canonical commutation relations and equation of motion are derived. Also the Euler-Lagrange equation is obtained, which is consistent with the canonical equation of motion. These consequences are exactly the same as those of previous papers, but different from the ordinary ones in the Euler-Lagrange equation and the Hamiltonian.
The variation principle has not been well defined in quantum mechanics for a Lagrangian containing a velocity dependent potential. We investigate the method of variation to derive an Euler-Lagrange equation in connection with Noether's theorem when the Lagrangian is invariant under some point transformation. Obtained are the Euler-Lagrange equation retaining the above invariance by means of the variation method and the Hamiltonian with which the canonical equation of motion leads to the Euler-Lagrange equation.
Abstract The classical and quantum theories of dynamical systems whose Lagrangians are linear in the co-ordinate derivatives are studied, with a view to clarifying a number of points in relation to Schwinger’s quantum-mechanical variational principle. In particular, linear variations of the dynamical variables are considered, and it is shown that they may be consistently included in Schwinger’s formalism. It is also found to be possible to obtain Green’s generalized commutation rules by excluding c number variations from the theory, for a suitably restricted class of Lagrangian.
The classical and quantum theories of dynamical systems whose Lagrangians are linear in the co-ordinate derivatives are studied, with a view to clarifying a n-uiber of points in relation to Schwinger's quantum-mechanical variational principle. In particular, linear variations of the dynamical variables are considered, and it is shown that they may be consistently included in Schwinger's formalism. It is also found to be possible to obtain Green's generalized commutation rules by excluding c number variations from the theory, for a suitably restricted class of Lagrangian.
Quantum theory is developed from a q-number (operator) action principle with a representation-invariant technique for limiting the number of independent system variables. It is shown that in a q-number theory such a limitation on the number of variations is necessary, since a completely arbitrary q-number variation implies an infinite number of conditions to be satisfied. This implication arises because, in a q-number theory, the system variables are matrices which, in most cases, have an infinite number of elements, each of which is independently varied in a completely arbitrary q-number variation. A review of Schwinger's quantum field theory formalism shows that the limitation to c- number variations, while accomplishing the desired limitation on the number of independent variations, is not representation-invariant, i.e., under a change of representation, c-number variations applied to the original system variables transform to q-number variations of the new system variables. In the Hamiltonian formulation of classical mechanics, invariant infinitesimal canonical transformations are generated by constants of the motion. It is also possible to generate infinitesimal invariant transformations from constants of the motion in the classical Lagrangian formulation. This latter possibility is exploited to obtain a q-number theory. It is demanded that the variations of the system variablesmore » in the action principle be the invariant infinitesimal transformations generated by constants of the motion. This requirement accomplishes the desired limitation of the number of independent variations in a representation-invariant manner. The resulting theory is developed in detail for a certain class of Lagrangian functions. A set of commutation relations is derived and a dynamical principle for determining the temporal development of the system is postulated. A discussion of the results, including consideration of the self-consistency of the formalism developed, is presented. Finally, a specific problem is worked through and it is shown that the results obtained correspond with those of the canonical method of quantization.« less