Semi-quantum Dynamics

Bernardo A. Huberman

Isaac Layton

Semi-classical approaches approximate fully quantum descriptions with partially classical ones. Here we use a toy model to highlight the failings of the standard mean-field semi-classical approach, and show how including environmental decoherence can lead to improved semi-classical theories that are exact descriptions of the original quantum dynamics. In doing so, we show how consistent models of classical-quantum dynamics can arise as effective descriptions of open quantum systems.

John Edward Gough, Tudor Stefan Ratiu, Oleg Georgievich Smolyanov

Noether’s theorem on constants of the motion of dynamical systems has recently been extended to classical dissipative systems (Markovian semi-groups) by Baez and Fong [J. Math. Phys. 54, 013301 (2013)]. We show how to extend these results to the fully quantum setting of quantum Markov dynamics. For finite-dimensional Hilbert spaces, we construct a mapping from observables to completely positive maps that leads to the natural analogue of their criterion of commutativity with the infinitesimal generator of the Markov dynamics. Using standard results on the relaxation of states to equilibrium under quantum dynamical semi-groups, we are able to characterise the constants of the motion under quantum Markov evolutions in the infinite-dimensional setting under the usual assumption of existence of a stationary strictly positive density matrix. In particular, the Noether constants are identified with the fixed point of the Heisenberg picture semi-group.

Walter E Thirring

Joshua J. Heiner, David R. Thayer

A nonlinear dynamics semi-classical model is used to show that standard quantum spin analysis can be obtained. The model includes a classically driven nonlinear differential equation with dissipation and a semi-classical interpretation of the torque on a spin magnetic moment in the presence of a realistic magnetic field, which will represent two equilibrium positions. The highly complicated driven nonlinear dissipative semi-classical model is used to introduce chaos, which is necessary to produce the correct statistical quantum results. The resemblance between this semi-classical spin model and the thoroughly studied classical driven-damped nonlinear pendulum are shown and discussed.