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arXiv:quant-ph/9710010

Nonlinear Phase Modification of the Schroedinger Equation

Waldemar Puszkarz

Published Oct 2, 1997• 1 citation
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

A nonlinear modification of the Schrödinger equation is proposed in which the Lagrangian density for the Schrödinger equation is extended by terms polynomial in $Δ^{m}\ln (Ψ^{*}/Ψ)$ multiplied by $Ψ^{*}Ψ$. This introduces a homogeneous nonlinearity in a Galilean invariant manner through the phase $S$ rather than the amplitude $R$ of the wave function $Ψ=R\exp (iS)$. From this general scheme we choose the simplest minimal model defined in some reasonable way. The model in question offers the simplest way to modify the Bohm formulation of quantum mechanics so as to allow a leading phase contribution to the quantum potential and a leading quantum contribution to the probability current removing asymmetries present in Bohm's original formulation. It preserves most of physically relevant properties of the Schrödinger equation including stationary states of quantum-mechanical systems. It can be thought of as the simplest model of nonlinear quantum mechanics of extended objects among other such models that also emerge within the general scheme proposed. The extensions of this model to $n$ particles and the question of separability of compound systems are studied. It is noted that there exists a weakly separable extension in addition to a strongly separable one. The place of the general modification scheme in a broader spectrum of nonlinear modifications of the Schrödinger equation is discussed. It is pointed out that the models it gives rise to have a unique definition of energy in that the field-theoretical energy functional coincides with the quantum-mechanical one. It is found that the Lagrangian for its simplest variant represents the Lagrangian for a restricted version of the Doebner-Goldin modification of this equation.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.quant-ph/9710010

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A nonlinear modification of the Schrödinger equation is proposed in which the Lagrangian density for the Schrödinger equation is extended by terms polynomial in Δmln⁡(Ψ∗/Ψ)Δ^{m}\ln (Ψ^{*}/Ψ)Δmln(Ψ∗/Ψ) multiplied by Ψ∗ΨΨ^{*}ΨΨ∗Ψ. This introduces a homogeneous nonlinearity in a Galilean invariant manner through the phase SSS rather than the amplitude RRR of the wave function Ψ=Rexp⁡(iS)Ψ=R\exp (iS)Ψ=Rexp(iS). From this general scheme we choose the simplest minimal model defined in some reasonable way. The model in question offers the simplest way to modify the Bohm formulation of quantum mechanics so as to allow a leading phase contribution to the quantum potential and a leading quantum contribution to the probability current removing asymmetries present in Bohm's original formulation. It preserves most of physically relevant properties of the Schrödinger equation including stationary states of quantum-mechanical systems. It can be thought of as the simplest model of nonlinear quantum mechanics of extended objects among other such models that also emerge within the general scheme proposed. The extensions of this model to nnn particles and the question of separability of compound systems are studied. It is noted that there exists a weakly separable extension in addition to a strongly separable one. The place of the general modification scheme in a broader spectrum of nonlinear modifications of the Schrödinger equation is discussed. It is pointed out that the models it gives rise to have a unique definition of energy in that the field-theoretical energy functional coincides with the quantum-mechanical one. It is found that the Lagrangian for its simplest variant represents the Lagrangian for a restricted version of the Doebner-Goldin modification of this equation.
We propose a nonlinear modification of the Schrödinger equation that possesses the main properties of this equation such as the Galilean invariance, the weak separability of composite systems, and the homogeneity in the wave function. The modification is derived from the relativistic relation between the energy and momentum of free particle and, as such, it is the best relativistic extension of the Schrödinger equation that preserves the properties in question. The only change it effectively entails in the Schrödinger equation involves the conserved probability current. It is pointed out that it partially retains the linear superposition principle and that it can be used to model the process of decoherence.
We observe that in nonlinear quantum mechanics, unlike in the linear theory, there exists, in general, a difference between the energy functional defined within the Lagrangian formulation as an appropriate conserved component of the canonical energy-momentum tensor and the energy functional defined as the expectation value of the corresponding nonlinear Hamiltonian operator. Some examples of such ambiguity are presented for a particularly simple model and some known modifications. However, we point out that there exist a class of nonlinear modifications of the Schrödinger equation where this difference does not occur, which makes them more consistent in a manner similar to that of the linear Schrödinger equation. It is found that necessary but not sufficient a condition for such modifications is the homogeneity of the modified Schrödinger equation or its underlying Lagrangian density which is assumed to be ``bilinear'' in the wave function in some rather general sense. Yet, it is only for a particular form of this density that the ambiguity in question does not arise. A salient feature of this form is the presence of phase functionals. The present paper thus introduces a new class of modifications characterized by this desirable and rare property.
We present an extension of Staruszkiewicz's modification of the Schrödinger equation which preserves its main and unique feature: in the natural system of units the modification terms do not contain any dimensional constants. The extension, similarly as the original, is formulated in a three-dimensional space and derives from a Galilean invariant Lagrangian. It is pointed out that this model of nonlinearity violates the separability of compound systems in the fundamentalist approach to this issue. In its general form, this modification does not admit stationary states for all potentials for which such states exist in linear quantum mechanics. This is, however, possible for a suitable choice of its free parameters. It is only in the original Staruszkiewicz modification that the energy of these states remains unchanged, which marks the uniqueness of this variant of the modification.
We present some physically interesting, in general non-stationary, one-dimensional solutions to the nonlinear phase modification of the Schrödinger equation proposed recently. The solutions include a coherent state, a phase-modified Gaussian wave packet in the potential of harmonic oscillator whose strength varies in time, a free Gaussian soliton, and a similar soliton in the potential of harmonic oscillator comoving with the soliton. The last of these solutions implies that there exist an energy level in the spectrum of harmonic oscillator which is not predicted by the linear theory. The free solitonic solution can be considered a model for a particle aspect of the wave-particle duality embodied in the quantum theory. The physical size of this particle is naturally rendered equal to its Compton wavelength in the subrelativistic framework in which the self-energy of the soliton is assumed to be equal to its rest-mass energy. The solitonic solutions exist only for the negative coupling constant for which the Gaussian wave packets must be larger than some critical finite size if their energy is to be bounded, i.e., they cannot be point-like objects.
We modify the Schrödinger equation in a way that preserves its main properties but makes use of higher order derivative terms. Although the modification represents an analogy to the Doebner-Goldin modification, it can differ from it quite distinctively. A particular model of this modification including derivatives up to the fourth order is examined in greater detail. We observe that a special variant of this model partially retains the linear superposition principle for the wave packets of standard quantum mechanics remain solutions to it. It is a peculiarity of this variant that a periodic structure emerges naturally from its equations. As a result, a free particle, in addition to a plane wave solution, can possess band solutions. It is argued that this can give rise to well-focused particle trajectories. Owing to this peculiarity, when interpreted outside quantum theory, the equations of this modification could also be used to model pattern formation phenomena.
We discuss Staruszkiewicz's nonlinear modification of the Schrödinger equation. It is pointed out that the expression for the energy functional for this modification is not unique as the field-theoretical definition of energy does not coincide with the quantum-mechanical one. As a result, this modification can be formulated in three different ways depending on which physically relevant properties one aims to preserve. Some nonstationary one-dimensional solutions for suitably chosen potentials, including a KdV soliton, are presented, and the question of finding stationary solutions is also discussed. The analysis of physical and mathematical features of the modification leads to the conclusion that the Staruszkiewicz modification is a very subtle modification of the fundamental equation of quantum mechanics.