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Journal of Physics A Mathematical and General

Commuting periodic operators and the periodic Wigner function

J. Žák

Published Nov 4, 2004• 3 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Commuting periodic operators (CPO) depending on the coordinate and the momentum operators are defined. The CPO are functions of the two basic commuting operators and , with a being an arbitrary constant. A periodic Wigner function (PWF) w ( x , p ) is defined and it is shown that it is applicable in a normal expectation value calculation to the CPO, as done in the original Wigner paper. Moreover, this PWF is non-negative everywhere, and it can therefore be interpreted as an actual probability distribution. The PWF w ( x , p ) is shown to be given as an expectation value of the periodic Dirac delta function in the phase plane.

DOI
10.1088/0305-4470/37/46/l03

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Commuting periodic operators (CPO) depending on the coordinate and the momentum operators are defined. The CPO are functions of the two basic commuting operators and , with a being an arbitrary constant. A periodic Wigner function (PWF) w ( x , p ) is defined and it is shown that it is applicable in a normal expectation value calculation to the CPO, as done in the original Wigner paper. Moreover, this PWF is non-negative everywhere, and it can therefore be interpreted as an actual probability distribution. The PWF w ( x , p ) is shown to be given as an expectation value of the periodic Dirac delta function in the phase plane.
By shifting the parity operator in phase space, one obtains a class of operators, which we call the Wigner operator, because its expectation value is equal to the Wigner function. Calculating the commutator of Wigner operators with different arguments, we show that the corresponding observables cannot be measured simultaneously. Introducing a new parameter, we give a trace-class generalization of this operator. The displaced number states of the harmonic oscillator constitute the natural eigenstate basis of the corresponding generalized Wigner operator. Establishing the integral representation of this operator we show that its expectation value is proportional to the Q- and P- and Wigner functions at special values of the parameter. We illustrate this connection with the coherent, number and squeezed states of the harmonic oscillator.
The Wigner function of quantum systems is an effective instrument for constructing an approximate classical description of the systems for which the classical approximation is possible. In recent years, the Wigner function formalism has been applied as well to seek indications of specific quantum properties of quantum systems leading to the impossibility of constructing the classical approximation. Used most of all as such an indication is the existence of negative values in the Wigner function for specific states of the quantum system being studied. The existence of such values itself prejudices the probabilistic interpretation of the Wigner function, though for an arbitrary observable depending jointly on the coordinate and the momentum of the quantum system just the Wigner function provides an effective instrument for calculating the average value and the other statistical characteristics. In this paper, a probabilistic interpretation of the Wigner function based on coordinating a theoretical probabilistic definition of the probability density, with restrictions to a physically small domain of phase space due to the uncertainty principle, is proposed.
The Weyl correspondence for obtaining quantum operators from functions of classical coordinates and momenta is known to be incorrect. To calculate quantum-mechanical expectation values as phase-space averages with the Wigner density function, one cannot use classical functions but must use Weyl transforms. These transforms are defined and their properties derived from quantum mechanics. Their properties are expressed in terms of a Hermitian operator Δ(Q, K) whose Weyl transform is a δ function. The Wigner function is the transform of the density operator. Every Weyl transform is exhibited as a difference of two functions which are nonnegative on the phase spece. Weyl transforms do not obey the algebra of classical functions. In the classical limit ℏ → 0, Weyl transforms become classical functions, the Wigner function becomes nonnegative throughout the phase space, and the Hilbert space is spanned by an orthonormal set of vectors which are simultaneous eigenkets of the commuting coordinate and momentum operators.
The Wigner phase operator (WPO) is identified as an operator valued measure (OVM) and its eigenstates are obtained. An operator satisfying the canonical commutation relation with the Wigner phase operator is also constructed and this establishes a Wigner distribution based operator formalism for the Wigner phase distribution. It is then argued that the WPO cannot represent a projective measurement of the phase; but is in fact to be interpreted as an operator valued measure for the phase. The non-positivity of the latter can be overcome by defining a positive operator valued measure (POVM) via a proper filter function, based on the view that phase measurements are coarse-grained in phase space, leading to the well known Q-distribution. The identification of the Q phase operator as a POVM is in good agreement with the earlier observation regarding the relation between operational phase measurement schemes and the Q-distribution. The Q phase POVM can be dilated in the sense of Gelfand–Naimark, to an operational setting of interference at a beam-splitter with another coherent state – this results in a von Neumann projector with well-defined phase in the expanded Hilbert space of the two modes.
We review some of the difficulties previously encountered in defining the phase operator for finite quantum systems. We then propose the Wigner–Weyl quantization of the angle function φ on phase space as the phase operator, and derive a closed expression for its matrix elements with respect to the Hermite functions. We also determine the quantization of e^{iφ} , which turns out to be a weighted shift operator, its spectrum and that of its adjoint. This is done in the framework of quantization of a certain symbol class of phase space distributions, specialized to those which depend on one variable only. After recalling some results for the position and momentum variables, we apply the scheme to functions of radius or angle. We give necessary and sufficient conditions for operators obtained by quantizing functions of the angle to be elements of \mathscr L^+ [\mathscr S(\mathbf R)] and \mathscr L^+ [\mathscr S (\mathbf R), L^2(\mathbf R)] , and a sufficient condition for boundedness. We then consider the associated questions of commutation relations and uncertainties for operators in \mathscr L^+ [\mathscr S(\mathbf R), L^2(\mathbf R)] , which we define as bilinear forms. As must be the case, the commutator between our phase operator and the number operator exhibits noncanonical terms. Not surprisingly, the Poisson bracket of their phase space symbols also exhibits a noncanonical term.