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arXiv:cond-mat/0701173

Schrodinger-equation formalism for a dissipative quantum system

Egidijus Anisimovas, Algirdas Matulis

Published Jan 9, 2007• 0 citations
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Abstract

We consider a model dissipative quantum-mechanical system realized by coupling a quantum oscillator to a semi-infinite classical string which serves as a means of energy transfer from the oscillator to the infinity and thus plays the role of a dissipative element. The coupling between the two -- quantum and classical -- parts of the compound system is treated in the spirit of the mean-field approximation and justification of the validity of such an approach is given. The equations of motion of the classical subsystem are solved explicitly and an effective dissipative Schrodinger equation for the quantum subsystem is obtained. The proposed formalism is illustrated by its application to two basic problems: the decay of the quasi-stationary state and the calculation of the nonlinear resonance line shape.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.cond-mat/0701173

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We consider a model dissipative quantum-mechanical system realized by coupling a quantum oscillator to a semi-infinite classical string which serves as a means of energy transfer from the oscillator to the infinity and thus plays the role of a dissipative element. The coupling between the two -- quantum and classical -- parts of the compound system is treated in the spirit of the mean-field approximation and justification of the validity of such an approach is given. The equations of motion of the classical subsystem are solved explicitly and an effective dissipative Schrodinger equation for the quantum subsystem is obtained. The proposed formalism is illustrated by its application to two basic problems: the decay of the quasi-stationary state and the calculation of the nonlinear resonance line shape.
We consider a model dissipative quantum-mechanical system realized by coupling a quantum oscillator to a semi-infinite classical string which serves as a means of energy transfer from the oscillator to the infinity and thus plays the role of a dissipative element. The coupling between the two---quantum and classical---parts of the compound system is treated in the spirit of the mean-field approximation and justification of the validity of such an approach is given. The equations of motion of the classical subsystem are solved explicitly and an effective dissipative Schr\"odinger equation for the quantum subsystem is obtained. The proposed formalism is illustrated by its application to two basic problems: the decay of the quasistationary state and the calculation of the nonlinear resonance line shape.
The need for a quantum-mechanical formalism for systems with dissipation which is applicable to the radiation field of a cavity is discussed. Two methods that have been used in this connection are described. The first, which starts with the classical Newtonian equation of motion for a damped oscillator and applies the conventional formal quantization techniques, leads to an exact solution; but subsequent discussion shows that this method is invalid, the results being unacceptable from a quantum-mechanical viewpoint. The second method, which considers the interaction of two systems, the lossless oscillator and the loss mechanism, is adopted in the present article. No special model is used for the loss mechanism, but this mechanism is assumed to have a large number of densely-spaced energy states.The approximations with respect to the loss mechanism that underlie the concept of dissipation are discussed. These approximations are then applied to the analysis, and a differential equation for a coordinate operator of the harmonic oscillator is obtained which has the formal appearance of the Newtonian equation of motion for a driven damped harmonic oscillator, the driving term being an operator referring to the loss mechanism. The presence of the driving term is responsible for the difference between the present theory and that of the first method mentioned above. A solution of the differential equation for the coordinate operator is given explicitly. An examination of the physical significance of the solution shows that the driving term is responsible not only for the thermal fluctuations which are due to the loss mechanism, but also for the proper commutation relationship of the conjugate coordinates of the oscillator and for its zero-point fluctuations.A generalization of the solution to provide for a classical driving force and coupled atomic systems is given. The results are then restated in a form that refers to the loss mechanism only through the two parameters by which it is usually described---the dissipation constant and the temperature.
A classical many-body problem composed of an infinite number of mass points coupled together by springs is quantized. The masses and the spring constants in this system are chosen in such a way that the motion of each particle is exponentially damped. Because of the quadratic form of the Hamiltonian, the many-body wave function of the system can be written as a product of two terms: a time-dependent phase factor which contains correlations between the classical motions of the particles, and a stationary state solution of the Schrödinger equation. By assuming a Hartree type wave function for the many-particle Schrödinger equation, the contribution of the time-dependent part to the single particle wave function is determined, and it is shown that the time-dependent wave function of each mass point satisfies the nonlinear Schrödinger–Langevin equation. The characteristic decay time of any part of the subsystem, in this model, is related to the stiffness of the springs, and is the same for all particles.
The development of a quantum-mechanical formalism for systems with dissipation that was presented in an earlier article, and intended mainly for application to the electromagnetic field in a cavity, is extended. The problem of the harmonic oscillator with dissipation is shown to be the same as that of a harmonic oscillator coupled to a thermal reservoir, and the need of the formalism to contain the appropriate statistical mechanics is discussed. The derivation of relationships which permit the calculation of all moments of the oscillator coordinate and momentum provides the necessary extension of the theory. The formal resemblance of the completed theory to that of classical Brownian motion, some differences due to quantum mechanics, and the fact that certain fundamental relationships which are assumed in the latter are derived in the present analysis, are pointed out. The application of the theory is illustrated by the consideration of three problems: the proof of Ott's formula, and the derivation of both the probability density and energy distribution of the oscillator in equilibrium with a thermal reservoir.
Quantum systems interacting with a dissipative environment can effectively be described by a nonlinear modification of the Schrodinger equation. For some standard problems that possess analytical solutions, e.g. the free motion and the harmonic oscillator, also the nonlinear equation can be solved in a closed form and has Gaussian-shaped wave packet solutions. The equation determining the time-evolution of the wave-packet width is - already in the case of the usual conservative Schrodinger equation - nonlinear and provides the quantities that are necessary to construct the Green’s function for the respective system. The Green’s functions for the conservative and dissipative cases will be given explicitly in position and momentum space.