A variational derivation of the Liouville-von Neumann equation of quantum-statistical mechanics is presented, in order to formulate mean~field approximations appropriate to mixed states. The Hartree-Fock and the RPA at finite temperatures are particular cases of the general formalism. A thennal boson expansion is defined, which allows us to describe anhannonic motion around a thennal excited state. In a numerical application on the basis of the Lipkin model, temperature-dependent phase transitions are observed. I. Introduction Studies of the decay of the compound nuclei formed in heavy-ion reactions have added a new dimension to the field of nuclear structure. The temperature of the compound nucleus at a given excitation energy rises from zero at the yrast state to a few MeV at angular momentum zero. Recently the decay of high-excited states above the yrast line, like the giant dipole resonance, has been observed 1,2). These measurements were carried out making use of sum-spectrometer multiplicity techniques, thus allowing to determine the average angular momentum of the system and from this knowledge the temperature of the nucleus. One can then study experimentally the nuclear structure at finite values of both the angular momentum and temperature, and the corresponding theoretical analysis of giant resonances above thermal excited states is now the object of intensive research 3-7). On the other hand, the observation of deep-inelastic reactions has been an important sourCe of information on the behaviour of nuclei under strong external fields. In these reactions the two interacting ions emerge after the collision with approximatley the same charge and mass, but having lost a large fraction of the energy and angular momentum of relative motion they had in the entrance channel (cf. e.g. ref. 8) and references therein). Different mechanisms play a role in these reactions, like the transfer of particles and the excitation of giant resonances (cf. ref. 9) and references therein). Because these vibrations have a damping width the energy and angular momentum absorbed through them into the nuclei lead to a finite temperature and to rigid rotation. This
A variational derivation of the Liouville-von Neumann equation of quantum-statistical mechanics is presented, in order to formulate mean~field approximations appropriate to mixed states. The Hartree-Fock and the RPA at finite temperatures are particular cases of the general formalism. A thennal boson expansion is defined, which allows us to describe anhannonic motion around a thennal excited state. In a numerical application on the basis of the Lipkin model, temperature-dependent phase transitions are observed. I. Introduction Studies of the decay of the compound nuclei formed in heavy-ion reactions have added a new dimension to the field of nuclear structure. The temperature of the compound nucleus at a given excitation energy rises from zero at the yrast state to a few MeV at angular momentum zero. Recently the decay of high-excited states above the yrast line, like the giant dipole resonance, has been observed 1,2). These measurements were carried out making use of sum-spectrometer multiplicity techniques, thus allowing to determine the average angular momentum of the system and from this knowledge the temperature of the nucleus. One can then study experimentally the nuclear structure at finite values of both the angular momentum and temperature, and the corresponding theoretical analysis of giant resonances above thermal excited states is now the object of intensive research 3-7). On the other hand, the observation of deep-inelastic reactions has been an important sourCe of information on the behaviour of nuclei under strong external fields. In these reactions the two interacting ions emerge after the collision with approximatley the same charge and mass, but having lost a large fraction of the energy and angular momentum of relative motion they had in the entrance channel (cf. e.g. ref. 8) and references therein). Different mechanisms play a role in these reactions, like the transfer of particles and the excitation of giant resonances (cf. ref. 9) and references therein). Because these vibrations have a damping width the energy and angular momentum absorbed through them into the nuclei lead to a finite temperature and to rigid rotation. This
This thesis is a collection of theoretical investigations into different aspects of the broad subject of quantum many-body theory. The results are grouped into three main parts, which in turn are divided into separate self-contained sections. Some of the work is presented in the form of published papers and papers that have been submitted for publication. The first section of Part A introduces some of the concepts involved in many-body problems, by developing methods to evaluate expectation values of the form . In the rest of Part A I consider collective excitations of finite quantum systems. The calculations are confined to nuclei because the results can then be compared with the extensive investigations that have been made into collective nuclear modes. In Section AII, wavefunctions are proposed for rotational excitations of even-even nuclei. Both isoscalar and isovector nuclear modes are discussed. In particular, the l2,m> isoscalar states are investigated for both spherical and deformed even-even nuclei, and the simplest isovector wavefunction is shown to give a good description of the giant dipole resonance. In section AIII wavefunctions are proposed for compressional vibrational states of spherical nuclei. Section AIV discusses sum rules for nuclear transitions of a given electric multipolarity. It is found that the 2+ and 1- states investigated in section AII and all but one of the vibrational states discussed in AIII each exhaust a large part of the appropriate sum rule. In Part B I consider the problem of how to describe flow in quantum fluids. In particular, we want to be able to identify the physical motion represented by any given many-body wavefunction. Section BI derives a guantum mechanical velocity field for a many-body system, paying special attention to the need for a quantum continuity equation. It is found that when the wavefunction has the usual time dependence e-iwt , that the quantum velocity formula averages over all oscillatory motion, so that much of the physical nature of the flow field is lost. In section BII a particular wavefunction is proposed to represent the quantum excitation corresponding to any given potential flow field. The results obtained by considering specific examples are very encouraging. In Part C I investigate the properties of surfaces. Section CI presents a theoretical description of the tension, energy and thickness of a classical liquid-vapour interface. In section CII the classical results are extended to describe the surface of a quantum system, namely superfluid helium four. Problems occur for the quantum system if the correlations arising from the zero-point-motion of the phonon modes are included in the ground state wavefunction. Finally, in section CIII discuss generalized virial theorems that give the change in the free energy of a system undergoing an infinitesimal deformation. For example, a particular deformation gives the expression used in CII, for the surface tension of a plane quantum surface.
A classical microscopic theory of mixed states has recently been formulated in order to deal with the theoretical description of nuclear phenomena observed in highly excited states. In this theory, which is here briefly reviewed, the degrees of freedom of real fermions are doubled by fictitious fermions, in the context of the formalism of thermofield dynamics. The requirement of static stability of the thermal state of equilibrium plays, in the theory, a relevant role. The possibility of constraining the dynamics of the fictitious degrees of freedom, in such a way as to eliminate spurious thermal excitations, is discussed. The concept of canonical collective variables for mixed states is analyzed. Boson expansions appropriate to describe collective excitations of hot quantal systems are introduced and their properties investigated. It is shown that thermal boson expansions based on the formalism of thermofield dynamics are free from formal inconsistencies which may be present in boson expansions derived by an ad hoc quantization of conventional thermal mean field theories. The formalism is applied to the Lipkin model, and the correlation energy of a hot system is discussed.
This thesis is a collection of theoretical investigations into different aspects of the broad subject of quantum many-body theory. The results are grouped into three main parts, which in turn are divided into separate self-contained sections. Some of the work is presented in the form of published papers and papers that have been submitted for publication. The first section of Part A introduces some of the concepts involved in many-body problems, by developing methods to evaluate expectation values of the form . In the rest of Part A I consider collective excitations of finite quantum systems. The calculations are confined to nuclei because the results can then be compared with the extensive investigations that have been made into collective nuclear modes. In Section AII, wavefunctions are proposed for rotational excitations of even-even nuclei. Both isoscalar and isovector nuclear modes are discussed. In particular, the l2,m> isoscalar states are investigated for both spherical and deformed even-even nuclei, and the simplest isovector wavefunction is shown to give a good description of the giant dipole resonance. In section AIII wavefunctions are proposed for compressional vibrational states of spherical nuclei. Section AIV discusses sum rules for nuclear transitions of a given electric multipolarity. It is found that the 2+ and 1- states investigated in section AII and all but one of the vibrational states discussed in AIII each exhaust a large part of the appropriate sum rule. In Part B I consider the problem of how to describe flow in quantum fluids. In particular, we want to be able to identify the physical motion represented by any given many-body wavefunction. Section BI derives a guantum mechanical velocity field for a many-body system, paying special attention to the need for a quantum continuity equation. It is found that when the wavefunction has the usual time dependence e-iwt , that the quantum velocity formula averages over all oscillatory motion, so that much of the physical nature of the flow field is lost. In section BII a particular wavefunction is proposed to represent the quantum excitation corresponding to any given potential flow field. The results obtained by considering specific examples are very encouraging. In Part C I investigate the properties of surfaces. Section CI presents a theoretical description of the tension, energy and thickness of a classical liquid-vapour interface. In section CII the classical results are extended to describe the surface of a quantum system, namely superfluid helium four. Problems occur for the quantum system if the correlations arising from the zero-point-motion of the phonon modes are included in the ground state wavefunction. Finally, in section CIII discuss generalized virial theorems that give the change in the free energy of a system undergoing an infinitesimal deformation. For example, a particular deformation gives the expression used in CII, for the surface tension of a plane quantum surface.
A summation of selected graphs in the perturbation expansion for the statistical operator and the operator of state leads to a simplified equation of motion for the nuclear many-body problem. It contains as a special limit the time-dependent Hartree-Fock and the quantum-statistical master equation. In a pictorial way one could label the approach as "Hartree-Fock plus collision terms." The formalism allows one to understand the progression of the nucleus from the boiling of the particle-hole excitations to the collective state of motion. The work is restricted presenting the formalism. Various applications are possible and indicated, but apart from an illustrative example no concrete comparison with the experiment has been performed.NUCLEAR REACTIONS Formalism developed for unifying collective and single-particle aspects; mean field theory, Hartree-Fock plus collision terms.
This thesis is a collection of theoretical investigations into different aspects of the broad subject of quantum many-body theory. The results are grouped into three main parts, which in turn are divided into separate self-contained sections. Some of the work is presented in the form of published papers and papers that have been submitted for publication. The first section of Part A introduces some of the concepts involved in many-body problems, by developing methods to evaluate expectation values of the form . In the rest of Part A I consider collective excitations of finite quantum systems. The calculations are confined to nuclei because the results can then be compared with the extensive investigations that have been made into collective nuclear modes. In Section AII, wavefunctions are proposed for rotational excitations of even-even nuclei. Both isoscalar and isovector nuclear modes are discussed. In particular, the l2,m> isoscalar states are investigated for both spherical and deformed even-even nuclei, and the simplest isovector wavefunction is shown to give a good description of the giant dipole resonance. In section AIII wavefunctions are proposed for compressional vibrational states of spherical nuclei. Section AIV discusses sum rules for nuclear transitions of a given electric multipolarity. It is found that the 2+ and 1- states investigated in section AII and all but one of the vibrational states discussed in AIII each exhaust a large part of the appropriate sum rule. In Part B I consider the problem of how to describe flow in quantum fluids. In particular, we want to be able to identify the physical motion represented by any given many-body wavefunction. Section BI derives a guantum mechanical velocity field for a many-body system, paying special attention to the need for a quantum continuity equation. It is found that when the wavefunction has the usual time dependence e-iwt , that the quantum velocity formula averages over all oscillatory motion, so that much of the physical nature of the flow field is lost. In section BII a particular wavefunction is proposed to represent the quantum excitation corresponding to any given potential flow field. The results obtained by considering specific examples are very encouraging. In Part C I investigate the properties of surfaces. Section CI presents a theoretical description of the tension, energy and thickness of a classical liquid-vapour interface. In section CII the classical results are extended to describe the surface of a quantum system, namely superfluid helium four. Problems occur for the quantum system if the correlations arising from the zero-point-motion of the phonon modes are included in the ground state wavefunction. Finally, in section CIII discuss generalized virial theorems that give the change in the free energy of a system undergoing an infinitesimal deformation. For example, a particular deformation gives the expression used in CII, for the surface tension of a plane quantum surface.
Collective excitations are one of the most common and interesting features of many-body systems. Of particular interest are those collective modes which can be interpreted in terms of vibrations. Nuclei show a large variety of such modes, both low-lying and high-lying. In particular the giant dipole resonance is due to the coherent motion of protons against neutrons. Its analogue in metal clusters is the dipole plasmon excitation, due to the oscillation of electrons against the positive ions. The Random Phase Approximation (RPA) is extensively used as a microscopic theory to study the basic properties of these collective excitations. In the derivation of RPA use is made of the Quasi Boson Approximation (QBA). It consists in replacing the expectation values in the correlated ground state with those in the uncorrelated (Hartree-Fock) one. Strictly related to QBA is the feature of RPA of predicting a harmonic spectrum. On the other hand, the existence of anharmonicities in the multiphonon spectra of nuclei and their relevance in various physical processes are well established. Overcoming QBA has represented the starting point of many attempts aiming at improving RPA. A recently developed approach in this line will be presented and discussed. A very nice property of RPA is to satisfy Energy Weighted Sum Rules (EWSR). However, some violations are present in several extensions of RPA. We will show how to cure this shortcoming.