This work is a simple example of the quantum dynamics of a particle in a disordered system in one dimension.In particular, we illustrate numerically the phenomenon of Anderson localisation of a wave packet using a basic model constructed with small random rectangular potential barriers.Also, we study the dynamics of a quantum particle in a disordered potential formed by an harmonic oscillator perturbed by random rectangular barriers.To show the effects of disorder on the dynamics of the system, we compare the time evolution of the wave function of the unperturbed harmonic oscillator with the wave function of the disordered system.We do this by taking the scalar product between the unperturbed and perturbed wave functions at each timestep for different values of the perturbation parameters affecting the disordered wave packet.
This work is a simple example of the quantum dynamics of a particle in a disordered system in one dimension.In particular, we illustrate numerically the phenomenon of Anderson localisation of a wave packet using a basic model constructed with small random rectangular potential barriers.Also, we study the dynamics of a quantum particle in a disordered potential formed by an harmonic oscillator perturbed by random rectangular barriers.To show the effects of disorder on the dynamics of the system, we compare the time evolution of the wave function of the unperturbed harmonic oscillator with the wave function of the disordered system.We do this by taking the scalar product between the unperturbed and perturbed wave functions at each timestep for different values of the perturbation parameters affecting the disordered wave packet.
We investigate the quantum and classical wave packet dynamics in an harmonic oscillator that is perturbed by a disorder potential. This perturbation causes the dispersion of a Gaussian wave packet, which is reflected in the coordinate-space and the momentum-space Shannon entropies, the latter being a measure for the amount of information available on a system. Regarding the sum of the two quantities, one arrives at an entropy that is related to the coordinate-momentum uncertainty. Whereas in the harmonic case, this entropy is strictly periodic and can be evaluated analytically, this behavior is lost if disorder is added. There, at selected times, the quantum mechanical probability density resembles that of a classical oscillator distribution function, and the entropy assumes larger values. However, at later times and dependent on the degree of disorder and the chosen initial conditions, quantum mechanical revivals occur. Then, the observed effects are reversed, and the entropy may decrease close to its initial value. This effect cannot be found classically.
In a recent experiment, Anderson localization was observed directly for non-interacting
Bose-Einstein Condensate in one dimension. The experiment was performed using
quasiperiodic optical lattice. Their system can be described by the one-dimensional noninteracting
Aubry-Andr�e model. This model which simulates disorder with its quasiperiodic
potential shows transition from extended to localised states at a critical disorder
strength. The ground state gets localised around a single point for disorder larger than
the critical value. We find that while inverse participation ratio increases as we increase
disorder and rises to one in insulator phase, super
uid fraction decreases as we increase
disorder and goes to zero sharply in the insulator phase . When we introduce weak
repulsive interaction for Bose gas in the model at the mean field level, we see that the
ground-state shows multiple-site localization for certain disorder range, which lies above
the critical value. For given interaction strength, we find that the inverse participation
ratio increases slowly and super
uid fraction decreases slowly as we increase disorder.
Moreover, by representing our model as a classical two-dimensional nonlinear Hamiltonian
map, we distinguish between localised and extended states by studying the trajectories
in phase-space. Using this, we find out the localization length of eigenstates as a
function of disorder for non-interacting model. Further, we study the time-evolution of
a wave-packet in different regimes of disorder and see the effect of interaction on it.
We consider quantum diffusion of the initially localized wavepacket in one-dimensional kicked disordered system with classical coherent perturbation. The wavepacket localizes in the unperturbed kicked Anderson model. However, the wavepacket get delocalized even by coupling with monochromatic perturbation. We call the state "dynamically delocalized state". It is numerically shown that the delocalized wavepacket spread obeying diffusion law, and the perturbation strength dependence of the diffusion rate is given. The sensitivity of the delocalized state is also shown by the time-reversal experiment after random change in phase of the wavepacket. Moreover, it is found that the diffusion strongly depend on the initial phase of the perturbation. We discuss a relation between the "classicalization" of the quantum wave packet and the time-dependence of the initial phase dependence. The complex structure of the initial phase dependence is related to the entropy production in the quantum system.
The time dependence of one-dimensional quantum mechanical probability densities is presented when the potential in which a particle moves is suddenly changed, called a quench. Quantum quenches are mainly addressed, but a comparison with results for the dynamics in the framework of classical statistical mechanics is useful. Analytical results are presented when the initial and final potentials are harmonic oscillators. When the final potential vanishes, the problem reduces to the broadening of wave packets. A simple introduction to the concept of the Wigner function is presented, which allows a better understanding of the dynamics of general wave packets. It is pointed out how special the broadening of Gaussian wave packets is, the only example usually presented in quantum mechanics textbooks.
In this work we will analyse the capabilities of several numerical techniques for the description of different physical systems. Thereby, the considered systems range from quantum over semiclassical to classical and from few- to many-particle systems. For each case we address an interesting, partly unsolved question. Despite the different topics we address in the individual chapters, the problems under study are somehow related because we focus on the time evolution of the system. In chapter 1 we investigate the behaviour of a single quantum particle in the presence of an external disordered background (static potentials). Starting from the quantum percolation problem, we address the fundamental question of a disorder induced (Anderson-) transition from extended to localised single-particle eigenstates. Distinguishing isolating from conducting states by applying a local distribution approach for the local density of states (LDOS), we detect the quantum percolation threshold in two- and three-dimensions. Extending the quantum percolation model to a quantum random resistor model, we comment on the possible relevance of our results to the influence of disorder on the conductivity in graphene sheets. Furthermore, we confirm the localisation properties of the 2D percolation model by calculating the full quantum time evolution of a given initial state. For the calculation of the LDOS as well as for the Chebyshev expansion of the time evolution operator, the kernel polynomial method (KPM) is the key numerical technique. In chapter 2 we examine how a single quantum particle is influenced by retarded bosonic fields that are inherent to the system. Within the Holstein model, these bosonic degrees of freedom (phonons) give rise to an infinite dimensional Hilbert space, posing a true many-particle problem. Constituting a minimal model for polaron formation, the Holstein model allows us to study the optical absorption and activated transport in polaronic systems. Using a two-dimensional variant of the KPM, we calculate for the first time quasi-exactly the optical absorption and dc-conductivity as a function of temperature. Concerning the numerical technique, the close relation to the time evolution in the other chapters get clear if we identify temperature with an imaginary time. In chapter 3 we come back to the time evolution of a quantum particle in an external, static potential and investigate the capability of semiclassical approximations to it. Considering various one-dimensional geometries, we address basic quantum effects as tunneling, interference and anharmonicity. The question is, to which extend and at which numerical costs, several semiclassical methods can reproduce the exact result for the quantum dynamics, calculated by Chebyshev expansion. To this end we consider the linearised semiclassical propagator method, the Wigner-Moyal approach and the recently proposed quantum tomography. A conceptually very interesting aspect of the compared semiclassical methods is their relation to different representations of quantum mechanics (wave function/density matrix, Wigner function, quantum tomogram). Finally, in chapter 4 we calculate the dynamics of a classical many-particle system under the influence of external fields. Considering a low-temperature rf-plasma, we investigate the interplay of the plasma dynamics and the motion of dust particles, immersed into the plasma for diagnostic reasons. In addition to the huge number of involved particles, the numerical description of this systems faces the challenge of a large range of involved time and length scales. Exploiting the mass differences of plasma constituents and dust particles allows for separating the PIC description of the plasma from the MD simulation of the dust particles in the effective surrounding plasma.
How much does local and time-periodic dynamics resemble a random unitary? In the present work we address this question by using the Clifford formalism from quantum computation. We analyse a Floquet model with disorder, characterised by a family of local, time-periodic, random quantum circuits in one spatial dimension. We observe that the evolution operator enjoys an extra symmetry at times that are a half-integer multiple of the period. With this we prove that after the scrambling time, namely when any initial perturbation has propagated throughout the system, the evolution operator cannot be distinguished from a (Haar) random unitary when all qubits are measured with Pauli operators. This indistinguishability decreases as time goes on, which is in high contrast to the more studied case of (time-dependent) random circuits. We also prove that the evolution of Pauli operators displays a form of mixing. These results require the dimension of the local subsystem to be large. In the opposite regime our system displays a novel form of localisation, produced by the appearance of effective one-sided walls, which prevent perturbations from crossing the wall in one direction but not the other