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Open Physics

The symmetry group of the quantum harmonic oscillator in an electric field

Juan D Lejarreta, José M. Cerveró

Published Mar 18, 2008• 3 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract In this paper we present two results. First, we derive the most general group of infinitesimal transformations for the Schrödinger Equation of the general time-dependent Harmonic Oscillator in an electric field. The infinitesimal generators and the commutation rules of this group are presented and the group structure is identified. From here it is easy to construct a set of unitary operators that transform the general Hamiltonian to a much simpler form. The relationship between squeezing and dynamical symmetries is also stressed. The second result concerns the application of these group transformations to obtain solutions of the Schrödinger equation in a time-dependent potential. These solutions are believed to be useful for describing particles confined in boxes with moving boundaries. The motion of the walls is indeed governed by the time-dependent frequency function. The applications of these results to non-rigid quantum dots and tunnelling through fluctuating barriers is also discussed, both in the presence and in the absence of a time-dependent electric field. The differences and similarities between both cases are pointed out.

DOI
10.2478/s11534-008-0040-2

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Abstract In this paper we present two results. First, we derive the most general group of infinitesimal transformations for the Schrödinger Equation of the general time-dependent Harmonic Oscillator in an electric field. The infinitesimal generators and the commutation rules of this group are presented and the group structure is identified. From here it is easy to construct a set of unitary operators that transform the general Hamiltonian to a much simpler form. The relationship between squeezing and dynamical symmetries is also stressed. The second result concerns the application of these group transformations to obtain solutions of the Schrödinger equation in a time-dependent potential. These solutions are believed to be useful for describing particles confined in boxes with moving boundaries. The motion of the walls is indeed governed by the time-dependent frequency function. The applications of these results to non-rigid quantum dots and tunnelling through fluctuating barriers is also discussed, both in the presence and in the absence of a time-dependent electric field. The differences and similarities between both cases are pointed out.
Solutions of the Schrödinger equation with an exact time dependence are derived as eigenfunctions of dynamical invariants which are constructed from time-independent operators using time-dependent unitary transformations. Exact solutions and a closed form expression for the corresponding time evolution operator are found for a wide range of time-dependent Hamiltonians in d dimensions, including non-Hermitean -symmetric Hamiltonians. Hamiltonians are constructed using time-dependent unitary spatial transformations comprising dilatations, translations and rotations and solutions are found in several forms: as eigenfunctions of a quadratic invariant, as coherent state eigenfunctions of boson operators, as plane wave solutions from which the general solution is obtained as an integral transform by means of the Fourier transform, and as distributional solutions for which the initial wavefunction is the Dirac δ-function. For the isotropic harmonic oscillator in d dimensions radial solutions are found which extend known results for d = 1, including Barut–Girardello and Perelomov coherent states (i.e., vector coherent states), which are shown to be related to eigenfunctions of the quadratic invariant by the ζ-transformation. This transformation, which leaves the Ermakov equation invariant, implements SU(1, 1) transformations on linear dynamical invariants. coherent states are derived also for the time-dependent linear potential. Exact solutions are found for Hamiltonians with electromagnetic interactions in which the time-dependent magnetic and electric fields are not necessarily spatially uniform. As an example, it is shown how to find exact solutions of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation for the Dirac magnetic monopole in the presence of time-dependent magnetic and electric fields of a specified form.
The theory of explicitly time-dependent invariants is developed for quantum systems whose Hamiltonians are explicitly time dependent. The central feature of the discussion is the derivation of a simple relation between eigenstates of such an invariant and solutions of the Schrödinger equation. As a specific well-posed application of the general theory, the case of a general Hamiltonian which settles into constant operators in the sufficiently remote past and future is treated and, in particular, the transition amplitude connecting any initial state in the remote past to any final state in the remote future is calculated in terms of eigenstates of the invariant. Two special physical systems are treated in detail: an arbitrarily time-dependent harmonic oscillator and a charged particle moving in the classical, axially symmetric electromagnetic field consisting of an arbitrarily time-dependent, uniform magnetic field, the associated induced electric field, and the electric field due to an arbitrarily time-dependent uniform charge distribution. A class of explicitly time-dependent invariants is derived for both of these systems, and the eigenvalues and eigenstates of the invariants are calculated explicitly by operator methods. The explicit connection between these eigenstates and solutions of the Schrödinger equation is also calculated. The results for the oscillator are used to obtain explicit formulas for the transition amplitude. The usual sudden and adiabatic approximations are deduced as limiting cases of the exact formulas.
When a system of particles in a bound state is placed in an external field the quantum state of the system depends on the manner in which the field is produced. The two limiting cases of interest are the adiabatic and impulse limits. Since the system does not approach a stationary state in either limit, in general, it is necessary to consider solutions of the time dependent Schrödinger equation. An example of this approach is provided by the problem of a harmonic oscillator in a uniform, time varying electric field for which an exact solution is easy to obtain using the Magnus expansion for the evolution operator. This operator contains the position and momentum in a particularly simple way that allows it to be interpreted in terms of position and momentum shifts produced by the field. The wavefunction of the oscillator is obtained in the adiabatic and impulse limits assuming the field to be switched on in an exponential fashion. Results obtained for these two limiting cases are then shown to be independent of the manner in which the field reaches its final steady value.
Quantum canonical transformations corresponding to time-dependent diffeomorphisms of the configuration space are studied. A special class of these transformations which correspond to time-dependent dilatations is used to identify a previously unknown class of exactly solvable time-dependent harmonic oscillators. The Caldirola-Kanai oscillator belongs to this class. For a general time-dependent harmonic oscillator, it is shown that choosing the dilatation parameter to satisfy the classical equation of motion, one obtains the solution of the Schrödinger equation. A simple generalization of this result leads to the reduction of the Schrödinger equation to a second-order ordinary differential equation whose special case is the auxiliary equation of the Lewis-Riesenfeld invariant theory. The time-evolution operator is expressed in terms of a positive real solution of this equation in a closed form, and the time-dependent position and momentum operators are calculated.
We investigate the quantum dynamics of a particle subjected to a linear potential using the Lewis--Riesenfeld invariant operator method. Starting from the time-dependent Schrödinger equation associated with a constant external force, we construct the most general Hermitian quadratic invariant and derive the corresponding coupled differential equations for its time-dependent coefficients. By means of an appropriate sequence of unitary transformations, the invariant operator is reduced to the form of a harmonic oscillator Hamiltonian. This reduction enables a clear classification of the system according to the sign of the conserved quantity ω2. Particular attention is devoted to the physically relevant case ω2 >0, which yields a discrete eigenspectrum. Explicit analytical expressions for the invariant coefficients, the displacement parameters, and the transformed wave functions are obtained. The resulting formalism provides an exact quantum description of a particle under a constant force and establishes a direct connection between invariant theory and harmonic oscillator quantization.
New time-dependent invariants for the NNN-dimensional nonstationary harmonic oscillator and for a charged particle in a varying axially symmetric classical electromagnetic field are found. For these quantum systems, coherent states are introduced, and the Green's functions are obtained in closed form. For a special type of electromagnetic field which is constant in the remote past and future, the transition amplitudes between both arbitrary coherent states and energy eigenstates are calculated and expressed in terms of classical polynomials. The adiabatic approximation and adiabatic invariants are discussed. In the special case of a particle with time-dependent mass, the solution of the Schr\"odinger equation is found. The symmetry of nonstationary Hamiltonians is discussed, and the noncompact group U(N,1)U(N, 1)U(N,1) is shown to be the group of dynamical symmetry for the time-dependent NNN-dimensional oscillator.