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Frontiers in Physics

Perturbation Theory for Time-Dependent Quantum Systems Involving Complex Potentials

Jeong Ryeol Choi

Published Jun 5, 2020• 11 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We explore how to apply perturbation theory to complicated time-dependent Hamiltonian systems that involve complex potentials. To do this, we introduce a generalized time-dependent oscillator to which the complex potentials are connected through a weak coupling strength. We regard the complex potentials in the Hamiltonian as the perturbed terms. Quantum characteristics of the system, such as wave functions and expectation values of the Hamiltonian, are investigated on the basis of the perturbation theory. We apply our theory to particular systems with explicit choices of time-dependent parameters. Through such applications, the time behavior of the quantum wave packets and the spectrum of expectation values of the Hamiltonian are analyzed in detail. We confirm that the imaginary parts of expectation values of the Hamiltonian are not zero but very small, while the real parts deviate slightly from those of the unperturbed system.

DOI
10.3389/fphy.2020.00189

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We explore how to apply perturbation theory to complicated time-dependent Hamiltonian systems that involve complex potentials. To do this, we introduce a generalized time-dependent oscillator to which the complex potentials are connected through a weak coupling strength. We regard the complex potentials in the Hamiltonian as the perturbed terms. Quantum characteristics of the system, such as wave functions and expectation values of the Hamiltonian, are investigated on the basis of the perturbation theory. We apply our theory to particular systems with explicit choices of time-dependent parameters. Through such applications, the time behavior of the quantum wave packets and the spectrum of expectation values of the Hamiltonian are analyzed in detail. We confirm that the imaginary parts of expectation values of the Hamiltonian are not zero but very small, while the real parts deviate slightly from those of the unperturbed system.
In this work we intend to study a class of time-dependent quantum systems with non-Hermitian Hamiltonians, particularly those whose Hermitian counterpart are important for the comprehension of posed problems in quantum optics and quantum chemistry, which consists of an oscillator with time-dependent mass and frequency under the action of a time-dependent imaginary potential. The propagator for a general time-dependence of the parameters and the wave-functions are obtained explicitly for constant frequency and mass and a linear time-dependence in the potential. The wave-functions are used to obtain the expectation value of the Hamiltonian. Although it is neither Hermitian nor PT symmetric, the case under study exhibits real values of energy.
Explicitly time-dependent Hamiltonians are ubiquitous in applications of quantum theory. It is therefore necessary to solve the time-dependent Schrödinger equation directly. The system’s dynamics is associated with a unitary time-evolution operator (a propagator), formally given as an infinite Dyson series. Time-dependent observables are invariant under unitary time-dependent transformations, where it is sometimes useful to transform the time-evolution from the states into the corresponding operators. This is carried out in part (in full) by transforming to the interaction (Heisenberg) picture. The corresponding equations of motion for the time-dependent operators are introduced. For quadratic potential energy functions, the time evolution of quantum expectation values coincides with the corresponding classical dynamics. This is demonstrated and analyzed in detail for Gaussian wave packets and a coherent state. Finally, we derive exact and approximate expressions for time-dependent transition probabilities and transition rates between quantum states. The validity of time-dependent perturbation theory is analyzed by comparison to exact dynamics.
In this work we intend to study a class of time-dependent quantum systems with non-Hermitian Hamiltonians, particularly those whose Hermitian counterpart are important for the comprehension of posed problems in quantum optics and quantum chemistry, which consists of an oscillator with time-dependent mass and frequency under the action of a time-dependent imaginary potential. We obtain the propagator for a general timedependence of the parameters and the wave-functions are obtained explicitly for constant frequency and mass and a linear time-dependence in the potential. The wave-functions are used to obtain the expectation value of the Hamiltonian. Although not PT symmetric the case of study exhibits real values of energy.
We now consider systems for which the Hamiltonian contains time-dependent interaction terms. In such cases we cannot reduce the time-dependent Schro¨dinger equation to an eigenvalue equation. However, if the time-dependent terms can be regarded as small perturbations, we can develop a form of perturbation theory that can be used to calculate the effects of time-dependent terms. Consider a system for which the Hamiltonian may be written as the sum of a dominant unperturbed part Hˆ0 and a small perturbation Hˆ ′ as Hˆ = Hˆ0 + λHˆ ′(t) , (10.1.1) where the unperturbed Hamiltonian Hˆ0 is independent of time, whereas the perturbation Hˆ ′ may depend on time. The parameter 0 < λ < 1 has been introduced to keep track of various orders of approximations as in the case of time-independent perturbation theory discussed in Chapter 8. The basic idea is that a small perturbation to the Hamiltonian will produce a small change in the wave function. For a time-dependent perturbation, this change means that a system, initially in a particular eigenstate of Hˆ0, will find itself in a time-dependent admixture of the eigenstates. Thus the time-dependent perturbation causes the system to undergo transition to different eigenstates of Hˆ0. So for time-dependent perturbations our interest lies in calculating the probabilities for transition to different states.
In this work we intend to study a class of time-dependent quantum systems with non-Hermitian Hamiltonians, particularly those whose Hermitian counterparts are important for the comprehension of posed problems in quantum optics and quantum chemistry. They consist of an oscillator with time-dependent mass and frequency under the action of a time-dependent imaginary potential. The wave functions are used to obtain the expectation value of the Hamiltonian. Although it is neither Hermitian nor PT symmetric, the Hamiltonian under study exhibits real values of energy.