© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

Terms Privacy Legal Notice

Propagator for potential of an oscillator with quadratic and cubic terms

Thera Thara, Pisistha Ratanavararaksa

Published Jan 1, 1998• 0 citations

Abstract

In quantum mechanics, the propagator is basically the most important; It contains all physical properties, Feynman's path integration is widely accepted to be the formal method for finding the propagator. However, the method is limited to only some type of problems. One challenging and interesting problem which has not been able to be solved since the time of Feynman is potential with quadratic and cubic terms. The problem is analysed in detail by using Baker - Hausdorff lemma in order to find the possibility of the best approximation; It is found that the best practical one is the first-order semiclassical approximation by using condition the cubic potential term has value very smaller than the quadratic potential term. The approximated propagator has been obtained for quadratic and cubic potential terms when it is analogous to the propagator with quadratic potential term, we have increased prefactor and exponential terms due to the influence of cubic potential term which expresses the anharmonic part of the propagator. The approximated propagator is reduced to the well-known propagator for the simple harmonic oscillator when the anharmomc part is zero.

DOI: 10.58837/chula.the.1998.1165

Related papers

The semiclassical expansion of the anharmonic-oscillator propagator

Maurice M. Mizrahi

This paper shows how to calculate the terms of a semiclassical (WKB) expansion of the quantum-mechanical propagator corresponding to the quartic anharmonic-oscillator potential, V=mω2q2/2 +λq4/4. This nonperturbative treatment expresses each term in the series as a path integral, which is then evaluated in the framework of a formalism, introduced by C. DeWitt-Morette, which does not entail the usual time-slicing operation followed by a limiting procedure. The Gaussian measure used absorbs all the quadratic terms in the expansion of the action functional about a classical path. The covariance of this Gaussian measure is Feynman’s Green function for the small-disturbance operator of the system. This function can be obtained by varying the constants of integration in the classical solution, and therefore the coefficients of the expansion depend only on this classical solution. If the latter is chosen to be the one which tends to its harmonic counterpart when λ→0, then it is seen that the propagator also tends to its harmonic counterpart when λ→0.

Journal of Mathematical Physics•May 1, 1979•29 citations

The anharmonic oscillator in quantum mechanics

Jordy de Vries

In this article the anharmonic oscillator in quantum mechanics is discussed. First propagators of less complex systems are found by using the path integral method. With perturbation theory an expression, up to any order, has been found for the vacuum propagator of the anharmonic oscillator. In this article only the first and second order were calculated and by looking at the n-pointfunctions the Feynman diagrams of these orders were found. It appears that the anharmonic term up to first order causes a change in the frequency of the system. Looking at second order perturbation theory gives five diagrams. The first four of these diagrams are simple diagrams and again these diagrams alter the frequency of the system. The change in the frequency looks a lot like a series and it is possible to ’guess’ a general expression up to any order for all simple diagrams. This expression seems to fit qualitatively for higher orders however the prefactors were not checked nor is there a proof formulated. The fifth diagrams is a complex diagram and this diagram has not been solved in a satisfying way. Finally some recommendations for additional research are given.

•Jan 1, 2006•0 citations

Path integral for the quantum harmonic oscillator using elementary methods

Scott M. Cohen

We present a purely analytical method to calculate the propagator for the quantum harmonic oscillator using Feynman’s path integral. Though the details of the calculation are involved, the general approach uses only matrix diagonalization and well-known integrals, techniques which an advanced undergraduate should understand. The full propagator, including both the prefactor and the classical action, is obtained from a single calculation which involves the exact diagonalization of the discretized action for the system.

American Journal of Physics•Jun 1, 1998•23 citations

First and Second-Order Energy Eigenvalues of One-Dimensional Quantum Harmonic and Anharmonic Oscillator with Linear, Quadratic, Cubic and Polynomial Perturbation Potential

B. I. Madububa, N. I. Achuko, JP. C. Mbagwu +2 more

This work is aimed at obtaining the energy eigenvalues for one-dimensional quantum harmonic and anharmonic oscillators perturbed by linear, quadratic, cubic and polynomial potentials. To obtain the solutions of the energy eigenvalues, we employed the time-independent perturbation theory to calculate the first and the second-order energy correction, which we used to obtain the complete generalised energy eigenvalues of the quantum harmonic oscillators with linear, quadratic, cubic and polynomial perturbation potential of the same unperturbed Hamiltonian (H).

ASM Science Journal•May 18, 2022•0 citations

Exact propagator for a time−dependent harmonic oscillator with and without a singular perturbation

Dinkar C. Khandekar, S. V. Lawande

By using Feynman’s definition of a path integral, exact propagators for a time−dependent harmonic oscillator with and without an inverse quadratic potential have been evaluated. It is shown that these propagators depend only on the solutions of the classical unperturbed oscillator. The relations between these propagators, the invariants, and the Schrödinger equation are also discussed.

Journal of Mathematical Physics•Feb 1, 1975•131 citations

Quantum Harmonic Oscillator

James W. Rohlf

The harmonic oscillator is defined by a quadratic potential. Many important problems in physics reduce to that of a quantum harmonic oscillator because the leading term of a potential near its minimum is quadratic. It is a general and noteworthy feature of quantum systems that the lowest energy is not zero. Calculate the probability that the quantum oscillator is found beyond the classical limit. Agreement with the uncertainty principle may be checked by calculating the expectation values of x2 and p2 and then taking the square root of the product. For large quantum numbers, the solution must approach that of the classical harmonic oscillator.

CRC Press eBooks•Oct 18, 2023•1 citation

In quantum mechanics, the propagator is basically the most important; It contains all physical properties, Feynman's path integration is widely accepted to be the formal method for finding the propagator. However, the method is limited to only some type of problems. One challenging and interesting problem which has not been able to be solved since the time of Feynman is potential with quadratic and cubic terms. The problem is analysed in detail by using Baker - Hausdorff lemma in order to find the possibility of the best approximation; It is found that the best practical one is the first-order semiclassical approximation by using condition the cubic potential term has value very smaller than the quadratic potential term. The approximated propagator has been obtained for quadratic and cubic potential terms when it is analogous to the propagator with quadratic potential term, we have increased prefactor and exponential terms due to the influence of cubic potential term which expresses the anharmonic part of the propagator. The approximated propagator is reduced to the well-known propagator for the simple harmonic oscillator when the anharmomc part is zero.

This paper shows how to calculate the terms of a semiclassical (WKB) expansion of the quantum-mechanical propagator corresponding to the quartic anharmonic-oscillator potential, V=mω2q2/2 +λq4/4. This nonperturbative treatment expresses each term in the series as a path integral, which is then evaluated in the framework of a formalism, introduced by C. DeWitt-Morette, which does not entail the usual time-slicing operation followed by a limiting procedure. The Gaussian measure used absorbs all the quadratic terms in the expansion of the action functional about a classical path. The covariance of this Gaussian measure is Feynman’s Green function for the small-disturbance operator of the system. This function can be obtained by varying the constants of integration in the classical solution, and therefore the coefficients of the expansion depend only on this classical solution. If the latter is chosen to be the one which tends to its harmonic counterpart when λ→0, then it is seen that the propagator also tends to its harmonic counterpart when λ→0.

In this article the anharmonic oscillator in quantum mechanics is discussed. First propagators of less complex systems are found by using the path integral method. With perturbation theory an expression, up to any order, has been found for the vacuum propagator of the anharmonic oscillator. In this article only the first and second order were calculated and by looking at the n-pointfunctions the Feynman diagrams of these orders were found. It appears that the anharmonic term up to first order causes a change in the frequency of the system. Looking at second order perturbation theory gives five diagrams. The first four of these diagrams are simple diagrams and again these diagrams alter the frequency of the system. The change in the frequency looks a lot like a series and it is possible to ’guess’ a general expression up to any order for all simple diagrams. This expression seems to fit qualitatively for higher orders however the prefactors were not checked nor is there a proof formulated. The fifth diagrams is a complex diagram and this diagram has not been solved in a satisfying way. Finally some recommendations for additional research are given.

We present a purely analytical method to calculate the propagator for the quantum harmonic oscillator using Feynman’s path integral. Though the details of the calculation are involved, the general approach uses only matrix diagonalization and well-known integrals, techniques which an advanced undergraduate should understand. The full propagator, including both the prefactor and the classical action, is obtained from a single calculation which involves the exact diagonalization of the discretized action for the system.

This work is aimed at obtaining the energy eigenvalues for one-dimensional quantum harmonic and anharmonic oscillators perturbed by linear, quadratic, cubic and polynomial potentials. To obtain the solutions of the energy eigenvalues, we employed the time-independent perturbation theory to calculate the first and the second-order energy correction, which we used to obtain the complete generalised energy eigenvalues of the quantum harmonic oscillators with linear, quadratic, cubic and polynomial perturbation potential of the same unperturbed Hamiltonian (H).

The harmonic oscillator is defined by a quadratic potential. Many important problems in physics reduce to that of a quantum harmonic oscillator because the leading term of a potential near its minimum is quadratic. It is a general and noteworthy feature of quantum systems that the lowest energy is not zero. Calculate the probability that the quantum oscillator is found beyond the classical limit. Agreement with the uncertainty principle may be checked by calculating the expectation values of x2 and p2 and then taking the square root of the product. For large quantum numbers, the solution must approach that of the classical harmonic oscillator.