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InTech eBooks

Exact Finite Differences for Quantum Mechanics

Armando Martínez-Pérez, Gabino Torres-Vega

Published Jul 11, 2018• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

We introduce a finite difference derivative, on a non-uniform partition, with the characteristic that the derivative of the exponential function is the exponential function itself, times a constant, which is similar to what happens in the continuous variable case. Aside from its application to perform numerical computations, this is particularly useful in defining a quantum mechanical discrete momentum operator.

DOI
10.5772/intechopen.71956

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We introduce a finite difference derivative, on a non-uniform partition, with the characteristic that the derivative of the exponential function is the exponential function itself, times a constant, which is similar to what happens in the continuous variable case. Aside from its application to perform numerical computations, this is particularly useful in defining a quantum mechanical discrete momentum operator.
Abstract We use non-standard finite differences to propose a quantum momentum operator to be used when the spectrum of the operator is discrete. The defined discrete operator complies with the discrete versions of the properties that the continuous variable operator has. The discrete derivative is exact for its eigenfunction, that is, exponential functions. We obtain the discrete adjoint of the momentum operator. The canonical commutation relationship between conjugate operators for discrete variables is diagonal along a particular direction.
An exact discretization of the canonical commutation and corresponding uncertainty relations are suggested. We prove that the canonical commutation relations of discrete quantum mechanics, which is based on standard finite difference, holds for constant wave functions only. In this paper, we use the recently proposed exact discretization of derivatives, which is based on differences that are represented by infinite series. This new mathematical tool allows us to build sensible discrete quantum mechanics based on the suggested differences and includes the correct canonical commutation and uncertainty relations.
Observables with a continuous spectrum are known to fundamentally differ from those with a discrete and finite spectrum. While some fundamental tests and applications of quantum mechanics originally formulated for discrete variables have been translated to continuous ones, this is not the case in general. Here we show that it is possible to manipulate, detect, and classify continuous-variable states using observables with a continuous spectrum revealing properties and symmetries which are analogous to finite discrete systems. Our approach leads to an operational way to define, and adapt, to arbitrary continuous quantum systems, quantum protocols, and algorithms developed for discrete systems.
Discrete versions of continuous models are central to numerical calculations in physics and engineering. A very common problem in setting up a discrete model is how to handle derivatives. There are, for example, three common approximations for the first derivative, and each embeds different properties in the discrete model. Discretizing continuous expressions simplified using rules of calculus is especially problematic, since many different discretizations can stand for the same continuous expression depending on the stage of simplification at which the discretization is carried out. The problems are resolved by requiring that the discrete model satisfies discrete versions of the properties satisfied by the continuous original. We illustrate by using some examples from undergraduate-level one-dimensional quantum mechanics.
We evaluate the non-Markovian finite-temperature two-time correlation functions (CF's) of system operators of a pure-dephasing spin-boson model in two different ways, one by the direct exact operator technique and the other by the recently derived evolution equations, valid to second order in the system-environment interaction Hamiltonian. This pure-dephasing spin-boson model that is exactly solvable has been extensively studied as a simple decoherence model. However, its exact non-Markovian finite-temperature two-time system operator CF's, to our knowledge, have not been presented in the literature. This may be mainly due to the fact, illustrated in this article, that in contrast to the Markovian case, the time evolution of the reduced density matrix of the system (or the reduced quantum master equation) alone is not sufficient to calculate the two-time system operator CF's of non-Markovian open systems. The two-time CF's obtained using the recently derived evolution equations in the weak system-environment coupling case for this non-Markovian pure-dephasing model happen to be the same as those obtained from the exact evaluation. However, these results significantly differ from the non-Markovian two-time CF's obtained by wrongly directly applying the quantum regression theorem (QRT), a useful procedure to calculate the two-time CF's for weak-coupling Markovian open systems. This demonstrates clearly that the recently derived evolution equations generalize correctly the QRT to non-Markovian finite-temperature cases. It is believed that these evolution equations will have applications in many different branches of physics.
Quantum mechanics is routinely simulated on classical digital computers for applications ranging from molecular design to quantum algorithm prototyping.Yet every such simulation confronts a fundamental mismatch: the mathematical structure of quantum theory is defined over infinite-dimensional Hilbert spacesand continuous operators, while real hardware possesses only finite memory and finite precision. Standard numerical libraries must therefore impose artificialtruncations, basis cutoffs, or discretization schemes that introduce approximation error and numerical instability. The Conservation of Complexity (COC) framework provides a self-consistent algebraic alternative that eliminates the infinity problem at its source. By identifying the maximum length k of ascending ideal chains in a commutative ring with the maximum depth of a finite game tree, and by imposing the Equiopposition Axiom together with normalized complex outcome states, the theory guarantees that every differential operator application remains inside a uniformly k-bounded Noetherian ring. The resulting operator-exponential solution of the associated cascading-feedback PDE is represented exactly by a finite sum of at most k Fourier modes, with higher-order terms identically zero by the ring axioms and normalization preserved unitarily at every step. This paper derives the explicit trigonometric wave-function representation of the COC model and demonstrates its direct utility for classical quantum simulations. The framework does not replace or reinterpret the established laws of quantum mechanics; rather, it supplies a computationally exact, resourcebounded description that is immediately implementable in any modern programming language. By choosing the complexity bound ℓ(R) = k appropriate to agiven physical subsystem, one obtains a closed algebraic expression whose evaluation requires no infinite series, no floating-point approximations to infinity,and no manual truncation—offering a practical bridge between the continuous formalism of quantum theory and the finite reality of digital computation.