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Symmetry

Evolution of Quantum Systems with a Discrete Energy Spectrum in an Adiabatically Varying External Field

Yury Belousov

Published Nov 4, 2024• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

We introduce a new approach for describing nonstationary quantum systems with a discrete energy spectrum. The essence of this approach is that we describe the evolution of a quantum system in a time-dependent basis. In a sense, this approach is similar to the description of the system in the interaction representation. However, the time dependence of the basic states of the representation is determined not by the evolution operator with a time-independent Hamiltonian but by the eigenstates of the time-dependent Hamiltonian defined at the current time. The time dependence of the basic states of the representation leads to the appearance of an additional term in the Schrödinger equation, which in the case of slowly changing parameters of the Hamiltonian can be considered as a small perturbation. The adiabatic representation is suitable in cases where it is impossible to apply the standard interaction representation. The application of the adiabatic representation is illustrated by the example of two spins connected by a magnetic dipole–dipole interaction in a slowly varying external magnetic field.

DOI
10.3390/sym16111466

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We introduce a new approach for describing nonstationary quantum systems with a discrete energy spectrum. The essence of this approach is that we describe the evolution of a quantum system in a time-dependent basis. In a sense, this approach is similar to the description of the system in the interaction representation. However, the time dependence of the basic states of the representation is determined not by the evolution operator with a time-independent Hamiltonian but by the eigenstates of the time-dependent Hamiltonian defined at the current time. The time dependence of the basic states of the representation leads to the appearance of an additional term in the Schrödinger equation, which in the case of slowly changing parameters of the Hamiltonian can be considered as a small perturbation. The adiabatic representation is suitable in cases where it is impossible to apply the standard interaction representation. The application of the adiabatic representation is illustrated by the example of two spins connected by a magnetic dipole–dipole interaction in a slowly varying external magnetic field.
We propose a method to describe the evolution of two spins coupled by hyperfine i nteraction in an external time- dependent magnetic field. We apply the approach to the case of hyperfine interaction with axial symmetry, which can be solved exactly in a constant, appropriately oriented magnetic field. In order to t reat t he n onstationary d ynamical p roblem, we modify the time-dependent Schrödinger equation through a change of representation that, by exploiting an instantaneous (adiabatic) basis makes the time-dependent Hamiltonian diagonal at any time instant. The solution of the transformed time-dependent Schrödinger FRVBUJPO in the form of chronologically ordered exponents with transparent pre-exponential coefficients is reported. This solution is highly simplified when an adiabatically varying magnetic field perturbs the system. The approach here proposed may be used for the perturbative treatment of other dynamical problems with no exact solution.
The dynamics of a nonstationary quantum system whose Hamiltonian explicitly depends on time is called adiabatic if a system state that is an eigenstate of the Hamiltonian at the initial instant of time remains close to this eigenstate throughout the evolution. The degree of such closeness depends on the smallness of the parameter that determines the rate of change of the Hamiltonian. It is usually believed that one of the factors playing a decisive role for the stability of the adiabatic dynamics is the structure of the spectrum of the Hamiltonian. As the quantum adiabatic theorem states in its usual formulation, deviations from the adiabatic evolution can be estimated from above by the ratio of the rate of change of the Hamiltonian to the minimum distance between the energy of the state that approximates the adiabatic dynamics and the rest of the spectrum of the Hamiltonian. We analyze this dependence and prove theorems showing that the efficiency of the adiabatic approximation is more influenced by the rate of change of the Hamiltonian eigenvectors than by the dynamics of the spectrum. In a vast majority of physically meaningful cases, it turns out that controlling the dynamics of eigenvectors is sufficient for ensuring the adiabaticity, regardless of the dynamics of the spectrum as such.
We characterize the evolution operator of a quantum system with generic spectral properties (in agreement with random-matrix theory), with a time-dependent Hamiltonian. The results are applied to the independent-electron model for the dissipation of energy: an example of a physical application would be the absorption of low-frequency electromagnetic radiation by small metallic particles. We discuss the statistical properties of the various regimes of the model, which depend on whether the perturbation is large enough to mix levels, and on whether the frequency is low enough for the quantum adiabatic theorem to apply. We also show that the eigenstates of the evolution operator are Anderson localized in the adiabatic basis, and present results concerning the localization length. This localization causes a saturation of the energy absorption if the Hamiltonian is periodic in time. The addition of a small amount of noise to the Hamiltonian destroys this nonclassical saturation effect.
A precise definition of an adiabaticity parameter \ensuremath{\nu} of a time-dependent Hamiltonian is proposed. A variation of the time-dependent perturbation theory is presented which yields a series expansion of the evolution operator U(\ensuremath{\tau})=${\ensuremath{\sum}}_{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\ell}}}$${\mathrm{U}}^{(\mathrm{\ensuremath{\ell}})}$(\ensuremath{\tau}) with ${\mathrm{U}}^{(\mathrm{\ensuremath{\ell}})}$(\ensuremath{\tau}) being at least of the order ${\ensuremath{\nu}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\ell}}}$. In particular, U(0){\mathrm{U}}^{(0)}U(0)(\ensuremath{\tau}) corresponds to the adiabatic approximation and yields Berry's adiabatic phase. It is shown that this series expansion has nothing to do with the 1/\ensuremath{\tau} expansion of U(\ensuremath{\tau}). It is also shown that the nonadiabatic part of the evolution operator is generated by a transformed Hamiltonian which is off-diagonal in the eigenbasis of the initial Hamiltonian. This suggests the introduction of an adiabatic product expansion for U(\ensuremath{\tau}) which turns out to yield exact expressions for U(\ensuremath{\tau}) for a large number of quantum systems. In particular, a simple application of the adiabatic product expansion is used to show that for the Hamiltonian describing the dynamics of a magnetic dipole in an arbitrarily changing magnetic field, there exists another Hamiltonian with the same eigenvectors for which the Schr\"odinger equation is exactly solvable. Some related issues concerning geometric phases and their physical significance are also discussed.
When a system of particles in a bound state is placed in an external field the quantum state of the system depends on the manner in which the field is produced. The two limiting cases of interest are the adiabatic and impulse limits. Since the system does not approach a stationary state in either limit, in general, it is necessary to consider solutions of the time dependent Schrödinger equation. An example of this approach is provided by the problem of a harmonic oscillator in a uniform, time varying electric field for which an exact solution is easy to obtain using the Magnus expansion for the evolution operator. This operator contains the position and momentum in a particularly simple way that allows it to be interpreted in terms of position and momentum shifts produced by the field. The wavefunction of the oscillator is obtained in the adiabatic and impulse limits assuming the field to be switched on in an exponential fashion. Results obtained for these two limiting cases are then shown to be independent of the manner in which the field reaches its final steady value.
Quantum adiabatic evolution is a dynamical evolution of a quantum system under slow external driving. According to the quantum adiabatic theorem, no transitions occur between nondegenerate instantaneous energy eigenstates in such a dynamical evolution. However, this is true only when the driving rate is infinitesimally small. For a small nonzero driving rate, there are generally small transition probabilities between the energy eigenstates. We develop a classical mechanics framework to address the small deviations from the quantum adiabatic theorem order by order. A hierarchy of Hamiltonians is constructed iteratively with the zeroth-order Hamiltonian being determined by the original system Hamiltonian. The k th-order deviations are governed by a k th-order Hamiltonian, which depends on the time derivatives of the adiabatic parameters up to the k th-order. Two simple examples, the Landau–Zener model and a spin-1/2 particle in a rotating magnetic field, are used to illustrate our hierarchical theory. Our analysis also exposes a deep, previously unknown connection between classical adiabatic theory and quantum adiabatic theory.