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The Quantum Wigner Current: a Geometric Approach to Quantum Dynamics in Phase Space

Maxime Oliva

Published May 30, 2019• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

Phase space is the unity of position and momentum configuration space. It allows for an effective description of dynamical systems and is particularly useful when it comes to studying chaos theory and statistical mechanics. After the advent of quantum physics early in the 20th century, E. Wigner [91], J. E. Moyal [62] and H. J. Groenewold [31] introduce a quantum theory in phase space. Despite the apparent added complexity of the mathematics involved in this new framework, the underlying classical and quantum equations show many similarities. The probability distribution in classical physics becomes the Wigner distribution, a probability distribution usually featuring negative values. In 2013, O. Steuernagel and D. Kakofengitis, inspired by the work of H. Bauke [7] and E. Wigner [91], identified the quantum analogue of the classical phase space flow: the Wigner current J [83]. This Wigner current allows the visualisation of quantum dynamics through a quantum fluid dynamics perspective in phase space. This thesis is written by collection of five articles. They are prefaced by an introduction into the basics of quantum phase space theory and its link with both classical phase space dynamics and the standard Schrödinger approach, followed by the articles published during this PhD. Article 1 shows the importance of the integral form of the Wigner current. We use it to derive the Ehrenfest’s theorem, as well as to refute some propositions made within the community. Article 2 shows that, using the Wigner current, an Eulerian and Lagrangian point of view do not always give the same results for the quantum case. We demonstrate that the negativities of the Wigner distribution, sign of quantumness of the system, are created by the Wigner velocity field singularities. The Wigner velocity field is the quantum analogue of the classical phase space velocity field. In Article 3, we see that even though Wigner distributions of quantum systems feature spotty structures which saturate on scales ɑZ [97], the construction of a superoscillating Wigner distribution allows one to generate much smaller structures, of the order of ɑZ /α with α a positive constant potentially very large. In Article 4, we introduce the concept of quantum shear suppression in phase space. The Wigner current features an effective quantum “viscosity”, suppressing classical dynamics fine details. This viscosity is the mechanism by which the Zurek scale is enforced dynamically onto the state in phase space. In Article 5, we apply the previous ideas to Kerr-type oscillators. Its Wigner current is derived, and using it we show that its values are conserved on a ring during the time evolution of the Kerr oscillator. The shear suppression is also studied.

DOI
10.18745/th.22363

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This is a text on quantum mechanics formulated simultaneously in terms of position and momentum, i.e. in phase space. It is written at an introductory level, drawing on the remarkable history of the subject for inspiration and motivation. Wigner functions density -- matrices in a special Weyl representation -- and star products are the cornerstones of the formalism. The resulting framework is a rich source of physical intuition. It has been used to describe transport in quantum optics, structure and dynamics in nuclear physics, chaos, and decoherence in quantum computing. It is also of importance in signal processing and the mathematics of algebraic deformation. A remarkable aspect of its internal logic, pioneered by Groenewold and Moyal, has only emerged in the last quarter-century: it furnishes a third, alternative way to formulate and understand quantum mechanics, independent of the conventional Hilbert space or path integral approaches to the subject. In this logically complete and self-standing formulation, one need not choose sides between coordinate or momentum space variables. It works in full phase-space, accommodating the uncertainty principle; and it offers unique insights into the classical limit of quantum theory. The observables in this formulation are c-number functions in phase space instead of operators, with the same interpretation as their classical counterparts, only composed together in novel algebraic ways using star products. This treatise provides an introductory overview and supplementary material suitable for an advanced undergraduate or a beginning graduate course in quantum mechanics. Readership: Advanced undergraduates and graduates studying quantum mechanics.

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Phase space is the unity of position and momentum configuration space. It allows for an effective description of dynamical systems and is particularly useful when it comes to studying chaos theory and statistical mechanics. After the advent of quantum physics early in the 20th century, E. Wigner [91], J. E. Moyal [62] and H. J. Groenewold [31] introduce a quantum theory in phase space. Despite the apparent added complexity of the mathematics involved in this new framework, the underlying classical and quantum equations show many similarities. The probability distribution in classical physics becomes the Wigner distribution, a probability distribution usually featuring negative values. In 2013, O. Steuernagel and D. Kakofengitis, inspired by the work of H. Bauke [7] and E. Wigner [91], identified the quantum analogue of the classical phase space flow: the Wigner current J [83]. This Wigner current allows the visualisation of quantum dynamics through a quantum fluid dynamics perspective in phase space. This thesis is written by collection of five articles. They are prefaced by an introduction into the basics of quantum phase space theory and its link with both classical phase space dynamics and the standard Schrödinger approach, followed by the articles published during this PhD. Article 1 shows the importance of the integral form of the Wigner current. We use it to derive the Ehrenfest’s theorem, as well as to refute some propositions made within the community. Article 2 shows that, using the Wigner current, an Eulerian and Lagrangian point of view do not always give the same results for the quantum case. We demonstrate that the negativities of the Wigner distribution, sign of quantumness of the system, are created by the Wigner velocity field singularities. The Wigner velocity field is the quantum analogue of the classical phase space velocity field. In Article 3, we see that even though Wigner distributions of quantum systems feature spotty structures which saturate on scales ɑZ [97], the construction of a superoscillating Wigner distribution allows one to generate much smaller structures, of the order of ɑZ /α with α a positive constant potentially very large. In Article 4, we introduce the concept of quantum shear suppression in phase space. The Wigner current features an effective quantum “viscosity”, suppressing classical dynamics fine details. This viscosity is the mechanism by which the Zurek scale is enforced dynamically onto the state in phase space. In Article 5, we apply the previous ideas to Kerr-type oscillators. Its Wigner current is derived, and using it we show that its values are conserved on a ring during the time evolution of the Kerr oscillator. The shear suppression is also studied.
The creation of quantum coherences requires a system to be anharmonic. The simplest such continuous one-dimensional quantum system is the Kerr oscillator. It has a number of interesting symmetries we derive. Its quantum dynamics is best studied in phase space, using Wigner's distribution WWW and the associated Wigner phase space current J\mathbf{J}J. Expressions for the continuity equation governing its time evolution are derived in terms of J\mathbf{J}J and it is shown that J\mathbf{J}J for Kerr oscillators follows circles in phase space. Using J\mathbf{J}J we also show that the evolution's classical shear in phase space is quantum suppressed by an effective ``viscosity.'' Quantifying this shear suppression provides measures to contrast classical with quantum evolution and allows us to identify special quantum states.
The behaviour of classical systems is characterised by their phase portraits; the collections of their trajectories. In quantum mechanics phase portraits are still considered impossible to compute due to the complexity of quantum trajectories arising from the introduction of the quantum correction terms. Instead, in this thesis, we identify the Wigner current (the rate of flow per unit area of the Wigner distribution), as the quantum analogue of the classical phase-space current, and through Wigner current's fieldline portraits we show that it reveals hidden features of quantum dynamics and extra complexity. In our analysis, we focus on the simplest, most intuitive, and analytically accessible aspects of the Wigner current. We investigate its features for weakly-anharmonic weakly-excited bound-states of time-reversible one-dimensional quantum-mechanical systems. We establish that weakly-anharmonic potentials can be grouped into three distinct classes: hard, soft, and odd. We stress connections between each other and the harmonic case. We show that their Wigner current fieldline portraits can be characterised by the Wigner current's discrete stagnation points, how these arise and how a quantum system's dynamics is constrained by the stagnation points' topological charge conservation. We additionally demonstrate the conceptual power of the Wigner current by addressing some confusion found in the literature. We also stress the usefulness of the integral form of Wigner's representation as an alternative to the popular Moyal bracket. The integral form brings out the symmetries between momentum and position representations of quantum mechanics, is numerically stable, and allows us to perform some calculations using elementary integrals instead of Groenewold starproducts. The associated integral form of the Wigner current is used here in an elementary proof which shows that only systems up to quadratic in their potential fulfil Liouville's theorem of volume preservation in quantum mechanics.
This thesis describes quantum mechanics in the phase space formulation. We introduce quantization and in particular the Weyl quantization. We study a general class of phase space distribution functions on phase space. The Wigner distribution function is one such distribution function. The Wigner distribution function in general attains negative values and thus can not be interpreted as a real probability density, as opposed to for example the Husimi distribution function. The Husimi distribution however does not yield the correct marginal distribution functions known from quantum mechanics. Properties of the Wigner and Husimi distribution function are studied to more extent. We calculate the Wigner and Husimi distribution function for the energy eigenstates of a particle trapped in a box. We then look at the semi classical limit for this example. The time evolution of Wigner functions are studied by making use of the Moyal bracket. The Moyal bracket and the Poisson bracket are compared in the classical limit. The phase space formulation of quantum mechanics has as advantage that classical concepts can be studied and compared to quantum mechanics. For certain quantum mechanical systems the time evolution of Wigner distribution functions becomes equivalent to the classical time evolution stated in the exact Egerov theorem. Another advantage of using Wigner functions is when one is interested in systems involving mixed states. A disadvantage of the phase space formulation is that for most problems it quickly loses its simplicity and becomes hard to calculate.
We consider quantum phase-space dynamics using Wigner's representation of quantum mechanics. We stress the usefulness of the integral form for the description of Wigner's phase-space current $\mathbit{J}$ as an alternative to the popular Moyal bracket. The integral form brings out the symmetries between momentum and position representations of quantum mechanics, is numerically stable, and allows us to perform some calculations using elementary integrals instead of Groenewold star products. Our central result is an explicit, elementary proof which shows that only systems up to quadratic in their potential fulfill Liouville's theorem of volume preservation in quantum mechanics. Contrary to a recent suggestion, our proof shows that the non-Liouvillian character of quantum phase-space dynamics cannot be transformed away.
Classical phase space flow is inviscid. Here we show that in quantum phase space Wigner's probability current J can be effectively viscous. This results in shear suppression in quantum phase space dynamics which enforces Zurek's limit for the minimum size scale of spotty structures that develop dynamically. Quantum shear suppression is given by gradients of the quantum terms of J's vorticity. Used as a new measure of quantum dynamics applied to several evolving closed conservative 1D bound state systems, we find that shear suppression explains the saturation at Zurek's scale limit and additionally singles out special quantum states.
This is a text on quantum mechanics formulated simultaneously in terms of position and momentum, i.e. in phase space. It is written at an introductory level, drawing on the remarkable history of the subject for inspiration and motivation. Wigner functions density -- matrices in a special Weyl representation -- and star products are the cornerstones of the formalism. The resulting framework is a rich source of physical intuition. It has been used to describe transport in quantum optics, structure and dynamics in nuclear physics, chaos, and decoherence in quantum computing. It is also of importance in signal processing and the mathematics of algebraic deformation. A remarkable aspect of its internal logic, pioneered by Groenewold and Moyal, has only emerged in the last quarter-century: it furnishes a third, alternative way to formulate and understand quantum mechanics, independent of the conventional Hilbert space or path integral approaches to the subject. In this logically complete and self-standing formulation, one need not choose sides between coordinate or momentum space variables. It works in full phase-space, accommodating the uncertainty principle; and it offers unique insights into the classical limit of quantum theory. The observables in this formulation are c-number functions in phase space instead of operators, with the same interpretation as their classical counterparts, only composed together in novel algebraic ways using star products. This treatise provides an introductory overview and supplementary material suitable for an advanced undergraduate or a beginning graduate course in quantum mechanics. Readership: Advanced undergraduates and graduates studying quantum mechanics.