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Physical review. D. Particles, fields, gravitation, and cosmology/Physical review. D. Particles and fields

Finite-difference approach to solving operator equations of motion in quantum theory

Vincent Moncrief

Published Nov 15, 1983• 46 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We study the application of the "leapfrog" method of finite differencing to the approximate solution of operator equations of motion in quantum theory. We show that, for a wide class of linear and nonlinear systems, the leapfrog differencing scheme is exactly unitary. The method is sufficiently general to apply to many-particle systems with arbitrary potential forces and to lattice-regulated nonlinear $\ensuremath{\sigma}$ models and non-Abelian gauge theories. In contrast to the recent proposal of Bender and Sharp (which is based on the finite-elements method) our approach is explicit rather than implicit and, in the case of lattice-regulated field theories, has a lattice analog of microcausality. For systems with finitely many degrees of freedom and self-adjoint Hamiltonians, we show that our approximate solutions converge to the exact solutions in the limit in which the time step tends to zero.

DOI
10.1103/physrevd.28.2485

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We study the application of the "leapfrog" method of finite differencing to the approximate solution of operator equations of motion in quantum theory. We show that, for a wide class of linear and nonlinear systems, the leapfrog differencing scheme is exactly unitary. The method is sufficiently general to apply to many-particle systems with arbitrary potential forces and to lattice-regulated nonlinear \ensuremathσ\ensuremath{\sigma}\ensuremathσ models and non-Abelian gauge theories. In contrast to the recent proposal of Bender and Sharp (which is based on the finite-elements method) our approach is explicit rather than implicit and, in the case of lattice-regulated field theories, has a lattice analog of microcausality. For systems with finitely many degrees of freedom and self-adjoint Hamiltonians, we show that our approximate solutions converge to the exact solutions in the limit in which the time step tends to zero.
In a previous paper we used the method of finite elements to formulate consistent, unitary, discrete-time quantum-mechanical systems having one degree of freedom. In this paper we extend the treatment to systems having two degrees of freedom. The proof of consistency is more delicate: It is nontrivial to show that there are no operator-ordering problems and that independent degrees of freedom remain independent at subsequent lattice sites. The construction of purely bosonic lattice systems is a straightforward application of the finite-element prescription. However, it is surprising that quantum-mechanical systems having interacting fermions and bosons are only unitary if the interaction is modified on the lattice by a term which vanishes as the lattice spacing approaches zero. The modified interaction is determined by an interesting nonlinear condition. In all cases we give an explicit formula for the lattice transfer operator.
This paper considers the Heisenberg equations of motion $\stackrel{\ifmmode \dot{}\else \.{}\fi{}}{q}=\ensuremath{-}i[q, H]$, $\stackrel{\ifmmode \dot{}\else \.{}\fi{}}{p}=\ensuremath{-}i[p, H]$, for the quantum-mechanical Hamiltonian H(p,q)H(p, q)H(p,q) having one degree of freedom. It is a commonly held belief that such operator differential equations are intractable. However, a technique is presented here that allows one to obtain exact, closed-form solutions for huge classes of Hamiltonians. This technique, which is a generalization of the classical action-angle-variable methods, allows us to solve, albeit formally and implicitly, the operator differential equations of the anharmonic oscillator whose Hamiltonian is H=p22+q44H=\frac{{p}^{2}}{2}+\frac{{q}^{4}}{4}H=2p2​+4q4​.
A method based off of operator consideration for solving the time evolution of a wave function is developed. The method is applied to free space, constant force and harmonic oscillator potentials where general solutions are derived for the wave function time evolutions for these potentials. Solving the Heisenberg equations of motion is discussed. A method to obtain exact solutions to Heisenberg's equations of motion is developed based off of solutions of classical equations of motion. Approximation methods for the time evolution of operators and wave functions are developed. A connection between classical and quantum chaos is made where it is realized that whenever a classical system behaves chaotically, the quantum system will as well.
The finite-element approach to lattice field theory is both highly accurate (relative errors ∼1/N2\sim1/N^2∼1/N2, where NNN is the number of lattice points) and exactly unitary (in the sense that canonical commutation relations are exactly preserved at the lattice sites). In this talk I construct matrix elements for dynamical variables and for the time evolution operator for the anharmonic oscillator, for which the continuum Hamiltonian is H=p2/2+λq4/4.H=p^2/2+λq^4/4.H=p2/2+λq4/4. Construction of such matrix elements does not require solving the implicit equations of motion. Low order approximations turn out to be extremely accurate. For example, the matrix element of the time evolution operator in the harmonic oscillator ground state gives a result for the anharmonic oscillator ground state energy accurate to better than 1\%, while a two-state approximation reduces the error to less than 0.1\%.
Abstract This review presents time-independent perturbative methods for solving the one-dimensional Schrödinger equation, highlighting representative cases that reveal key aspects of the theory. The focus is on their relevance to quantum computing applications, particularly in systems with finite-dimensional state spaces. The main link between these methods and quantum processing emerges when we consider systems with only a finite number of well-defined energy levels, e.g., two levels corresponding to the ‘zero’ and ‘one’ states of a quantum bit (qubit), for which the Schrödinger equation describes a quantum algorithm corresponding to the unitary evolution of the qubits. Perturbative techniques can then be applied to this evolution to gain deeper insight into the algorithm or to simplify it in a controlled manner, as described in the last sections of this review. We initially discuss representative applications using benchmark cases that exemplify the essential features of perturbation theory while avoiding unnecessary technical complications. The methods presented involve direct approaches to solutions for quantum systems with small potential perturbations, with consideration of indirect and approximation techniques. Key cases examined include the particle in a potential well, the harmonic oscillator, and systems with polynomial or Dirac delta distribution perturbations, each chosen to highlight unique aspects of perturbative analysis. Starting with an overview of the unperturbed Schrödinger equation, we derive canonical solutions and then use perturbative techniques to approximate energy shifts and wavefunction corrections in both non-degenerate and degenerate settings. By combining theoretical discussion with case studies, this review underscores how perturbative methods are applied across a range of elementary quantum mechanical problems especially for applications in the qubit model, which, in many cases of interest, can be reduced to the explicit calculations shown here.