CRC Press eBooks

Density Matrix Formalism. Resolvent Operator

Ole Keller

Published Aug 6, 2024• 0 citations

Abstract

A detailed account of the density matrix formalism and the resolvent operator theory is given. The statistical mixture of quantum states is described in terms of the density matrix operator, a concept which in an elegant manner allows one to obtain the ensemble average of an observable [a Hermitian operator, which eigenspectrum is complete]. On the basis of an integral equation for the evolution operator, described in the Interaction Representation, the Liouville equation, describing the dynamical evolution of the density matrix operator, is established. A comprehensive analysis of thermal equilibrium in electron systems is presented. For a description of the dynamical time evolution of a system in contact with a heat bath, a reservoir in thermal equilibrium, the den- sity matrix operator approach is shown to be extremely convenient. The Kubo formalism for the time-dependent density matrix is discussed in its most general form. The so-called resolvent propagator formalism is set up starting from a discussion of the analytical part of a Dirac delta function. Having established integral equations for the retarded and advanced scalar propagator operators, the resolvent propagator concept is introduced and analyzed. The resolvent of the Hamiltonian is of particular importance in physics, and the singularities of this resolvent (poles and branch cuts) are identified. We finish by a study of correlated systems in terms of the reduced density matrix operator concept.

DOI: 10.1201/9781003029458-15

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