Time-Dependent Perturbations

Vishnu S. Mathur, Surendra Singh

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.

John B. Ketterson, Shenian N. Song

Kwong T. Chung

The previous time-dependent variation-perturbation theory, which is derived from the conventional time-dependent perturbation equations, contains two inconvenient features. When the perturbation becomes static, the wave function so obtained does not satisfy the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation, and the perturbation equations cannot be reduced to the ordinary time-independent perturbation equations. To remove these difficulties, we introduce a perturbed time-dependent phase factor in deriving a new set of perturbation equations. We then construct the variation-perturbation functionals as in the previous theory; the perturbed wave functions are solved by minimizing these functionals. The same method is also applied to many-electron systems, using the coupled and uncoupled Hartree-Fock scheme.

Chi‐Fai Lo

This paper examines the possibility of applying the time-dependent perturbation theory to the systems with a time-dependent unperturbed part. Analyses indicate that time-dependent perturbation theory is valid even if the unperturbed Hamiltonian H0 depends on time, provided that the pseudostationary states of H0 are known. It is also shown that this new perturbative treatment provides a useful tool for tackling the problem of a general driven time-dependent oscillator.