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Journal of Mathematical Physics

Dynamics of uncertainties for one-dimensional semiclassical wave packets: Isochronicity, scattering, and capture

Predrag Punoševac, Sam L. Robinson

Published May 1, 2019• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

We complete our study on the uncertainties in position and momentum associated with the semiclassical Hagedorn wave packets by first filling in a technical gap in the dynamics of bound states for isochronous potentials. We then consider scattered states and show that, if the packet is reflected from the potential or transmitted through a symmetric potential, then a minimal uncertainty “initial” state cannot in general lead to a “final” state with minimal uncertainty, and we give an explicit relationship for the difference in terms of a characteristic time associated with classical trajectories. We also characterize the behavior of the uncertainty product in the case where the underlying classical dynamics lead to capture by the potential.

DOI
10.1063/1.5096954

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We complete our study on the uncertainties in position and momentum associated with the semiclassical Hagedorn wave packets by first filling in a technical gap in the dynamics of bound states for isochronous potentials. We then consider scattered states and show that, if the packet is reflected from the potential or transmitted through a symmetric potential, then a minimal uncertainty “initial” state cannot in general lead to a “final” state with minimal uncertainty, and we give an explicit relationship for the difference in terms of a characteristic time associated with classical trajectories. We also characterize the behavior of the uncertainty product in the case where the underlying classical dynamics lead to capture by the potential.
We study the time evolution of the uncertainties Δx and Δp in position and momentum, respectively, associated with the semiclassical propagation of certain Gaussian initial states. We show that these quantities behave generically as P1(t)+tP2(t), where P1 and P2 are periodic in time with period that of an underlying classical trajectory. We also show that, despite the overall (generically quadratic) growth in time, the uncertainty product ΔxΔp achieves its minimum of ħ/2 at arbitrarily large times.
We develop an alternative view of the semiclassical wave packets of Hagedorn---often called the Hagedorn wave packets---stressing the roles of the symplectic and metaplectic groups along with the Heisenberg--Weyl group. Our point of view clarifies the relationship between the Hagedorn wave packets and the Hermite functions by building a bridge between the ladders of wave functions in both theories. This Hagedorn--Hermite correspondence provides an elegant view as well as simple proofs of some essential results on the Hagedorn wave packets. We build the theory starting from fundamental properties of ladder operators. Particularly, we show that the ladder operators of Hagedorn are a natural set obtained from the position and momentum operators using the symplectic group. The idea that pervades our view of the Hagedorn wave packets is so-called symplectic covariance; it generalizes some of fundamental results concerning the Hagedorn wave packets as well as simplifies their proofs. We apply our formulation to show the existence of minimal uncertainty products for the Hagedorn wave packets; it generalizes the one-dimensional result by Hagedorn to multi-dimensions. The Hagedorn--Hermite correspondence also leads to an alternative derivation of the generating function for the Hagedorn wave packets and clarifies its relationship with the generating function for the Hermite functions. This result, in turn, reveals the relationship between the Hagedorn polynomials and the Hermite polynomials.
In this paper we develop a new approach to semiclassical dynamics which exploits the fact that extended wavefunctions for heavy particles (or particles in harmonic potentials) may be decomposed into time−dependent wave packets, which spread minimally and which execute classical or nearly classical trajectories. A Gaussian form for the wave packets is assumed and equations of motion are derived for the parameters characterizing the Gaussians. If the potential (which may be nonseparable in many coordinates) is expanded in a Taylor series about the instantaneous center of the (many−particle) wave packet, and up to quadratic terms are kept, we find the classical parameters of the wave packet (positions, momenta) obey Hamilton’s equation of motion. Quantum parameters (wave packet spread, phase factor, correlation terms, etc.) obey similar first order quantum equations. The center of the wave packet is shown to acquire a phase equal to the action integral along the classical path. State−specific quantum information is obtained from the wave packet trajectories by use of the superposition principle and projection techniques. Successful numerical application is made to the collinear He + H2 system widely used as a test case. Classically forbidden transitions are accounted for and obtained in the same manner as the classically allowed transitions; turning points present no difficulties and flux is very nearly conserved.
We study non-relativistic propagation of Gaussian wave packets in one-dimensional Eckart potential, a barrier, or a well. In the picture used, the transmitted wave packet results from interference between the copies of the freely propagating state with different spatial shifts (delays), [Formula: see text], induced by the scattering potential. The Uncertainty Principle precludes relating the particle's final position to the delay experienced in the potential, except in the classical limit. Beyond this limit, even defining an effective range of the delay is shown to be an impracticable task, owing to the oscillatory nature of the corresponding amplitude distribution. Our examples include the classically allowed case, semiclassical tunnelling, delays induced in the presence of a virtual state, and scattering by a low barrier. The properties of the amplitude distribution of the delays, and its pole representation are studied in detail.