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Progress of Theoretical Physics

Systematic Treatment of General Time-Dependent Harmonic Oscillator in Classical and Quantum Mechanics

H. Kanasugi, Hidehiko Okada

Published May 1, 1995• 23 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A systematic way of treating a general time-dependent harmonic oscillator in classical and quantum mechanics is given. By a general canonical transformation in classical mechanics, the time-dependent Hamiltonian can be transformed to a time-independent one (the Lewis-Riesenfeld invariant), explicitly separating a total time-derivative term. In quantum mechanics, one can obtain the phase of the wave function straightforwardly from this total-derivative term, together with the corresponding time-independent Hamiltonian. We solve analytically and algebraically the general time-dependent harmonic oscillator driven by a time-dependent inverse cubic force as an example.

DOI
10.1143/ptp.93.949

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A systematic way of treating a general time-dependent harmonic oscillator in classical and quantum mechanics is given. By a general canonical transformation in classical mechanics, the time-dependent Hamiltonian can be transformed to a time-independent one (the Lewis-Riesenfeld invariant), explicitly separating a total time-derivative term. In quantum mechanics, one can obtain the phase of the wave function straightforwardly from this total-derivative term, together with the corresponding time-independent Hamiltonian. We solve analytically and algebraically the general time-dependent harmonic oscillator driven by a time-dependent inverse cubic force as an example.
In this work we present the classical and quantum solutions for an arbitrary system of time-dependent coupled harmonic oscillators, where the masses (m), frequencies (ω) and coupling parameter (k) are functions of time. To obtain the classical solutions, we use a coordinate and momentum transformations along with a canonical transformation to write the original Hamiltonian as the sum of two Hamiltonians of uncoupled harmonic oscillators with modified time-dependent frequencies and unitary masses. To obtain the exact quantum solutions we use a unitary transformation and the Lewis and Riesenfeld (LR) invariant method. The exact wave functions are obtained by solving the respective Milne–Pinney (MP) equation for each system. We obtain the solutions for the system with m1 = m2 = m0eγt, ω1 = ω01e-γt/2, ω2 = ω02e-γt/2 and k = k0.
In this work we present the classical and quantum solutions of time-dependent coupled harmonic oscillators. In these systems the masses, frequencies and coupling parameter (k) are functions of time. Four systems are investigated. To obtain the classical solutions we use a coordinate and momentum transformations along with a canonical transformation to write the original Hamiltonian as the sum of two Hamiltonians of uncoupled harmonic oscillators with modified time-dependent frequencies and unitary masses. We find the analytical expression for position and velocity of each oscillator of the systems. To obtain the exact quantum solutions we use a unitary transformation and the Lewis and Riesenfeld invariant method. The wave functions obtained are written in terms of a c-number quantity () which is solution of the Milne-Pinney equation. For each system we solve the respective Milne-Pinney equation and discuss how the quantum fluctuations and the uncertainty product evolve with time.
Abstract In quantum mechanics courses, students often solve the Schrödinger equation for the harmonic oscillator with time-independent parameters. However, time-dependent quantum harmonic oscillators are relevant in modeling several problems as, for instance, the description of quantum motion of particles in traps, shortcuts to adiabaticity, generation of squeezed states, as well as quantum scalar fields evolving in expanding universes. In the present paper, we discuss, with a pedagogical approach, the quantum harmonic oscillator with time-dependent frequency via the Lewis–Riesenfeld dynamical invariant method, revisiting the main steps to obtain the wave function associated with this model, and briefly discussing the relation between this oscillator and the generation of squeezed states. As examples of didactic applications of time-dependent harmonic oscillators and the Lewis–Riesenfeld method in quantum mechanics courses, we solve the following problems: the calculation of the transition probability associated with a harmonic oscillator which undergoes jumps in its frequency, and the analysis of the dynamics of a quantum particle in a Paul trap.