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arXiv:quant-ph/0612203

Superseded version of the WKB approximation and explanation of emergence of classicality

Guowen Wang

Published Dec 25, 2006• 0 citations

Abstract

Regarding the limit hbar-->0 as the classical limit of quantum mechanics seems to be silly because hbar is a definite constant of physics, but it was successfully used in the derivation of the WKB approximation. A superseded version of the WKB approximation is proposed in the classical limit alpha-->0 where alpha=m/M is the screening parameter of an object in which m is the mass of the effective screening layer and M the total mass. This version is applicable to not only approximate solution of Schrodinger equation of a quantum particle but also that of a nanoparticle. Moreover, the version shows that the quantization rules for nanoparticles can be achieved by substituting alpha times hbar for hbar in the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization rules of the old quantum theory. Most importantly, the version helps clarify the essential difference between classical and quantum realities and understand the transition from quantum to classical mechanics as well as quantum mechanics itself.

DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.quant-ph/0612203

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Regarding the limit hbar-->0 as the classical limit of quantum mechanics seems to be silly because hbar is a definite constant of physics, but it was successfully used in the derivation of the WKB approximation. A superseded version of the WKB approximation is proposed in the classical limit alpha-->0 where alpha=m/M is the screening parameter of an object in which m is the mass of the effective screening layer and M the total mass. This version is applicable to not only approximate solution of Schrodinger equation of a quantum particle but also that of a nanoparticle. Moreover, the version shows that the quantization rules for nanoparticles can be achieved by substituting alpha times hbar for hbar in the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization rules of the old quantum theory. Most importantly, the version helps clarify the essential difference between classical and quantum realities and understand the transition from quantum to classical mechanics as well as quantum mechanics itself.

The WKB approximation is a physically intuitive method and makes many connections with intuition about waves and classical mechanics as well as with results from the early days of quantum theory as it leads to the Bohr quantization condition. The WKB method is due to Gregor Wentzel, Hendrik Anthony Kramers and Leon Nicolas Brillouin. The method is applicable for slowly varying potentials, that is, the potentials that change not more than a few wavelengths. The WKB approximation is a physically intuitive method and makes many connections with intuition about waves and classical mechanics as well as with results from the early days of quantum theory as it leads to the Bohr quantization condition. The Schrödinger equation is solved to find the penetration of a square potential barrier. The WKB method is applied to obtain a transmission coefficient for penetration through a barrier.

Solution of the Schrödinger's equation in the zero order WKB approximation is analyzed. We observe and investigate several remarkable features of the WKB

_0

method. Solution in the whole region is built with the help of simple connection formulas we derive from basic requirements of continuity and finiteness for the wave function in quantum mechanics. We show that, for conservative quantum systems, not only total energy, but also momentum is the constant of motion. We derive the quantization conditions for two and more turning point problems. Exact energy eigenvalues for solvable and some ``insoluble'' potentials are obtained. The eigenfunctions have the form of a standing wave,

A_n\cos(k_nx+δ_n)

, and are the asymptote of the exact solution.

A semiclassical approximation is derived by using a family of wavepackets to map arbitrary wavefunctions into phase space. If the Hamiltonian can be approximated as linear over each individual wavepacket, as often done when presenting Ehrenfest's theorem, the resulting approximation is a linear first-order partial differential equation on phase space, which will be referred to as the Schrödinger-Ehrenfest or SE equation. This advectively transports wavefunctions along classical trajectories, so that as a trajectory is followed in time the amplitude remains constant while the phase changes by the action divided by

\hbar

. The wavefunction's squared-magnitude is a plausible phase space density and obeys Liouville's equation for the classical time evolution. This is a derivation of the Koopman-von~Neumann (KvN) formulation of classical mechanics, which previously was postulated but not derived. With the time-independent SE equation, continuity of the wavefunction requires the change of phase around any closed path in the torus covered by a classical trajectory to be an integer multiple of

2π

, giving a standing wave picture of old quantum mechanics. While this applies to any system, for separable systems it gives Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization.