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arXiv:quant-ph/9806056

How Wigner Functions Transform Under Symplectic Maps

Alex J. Dragt, Salman Habib

Published Jun 16, 1998• 4 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

It is shown that, while Wigner and Liouville functions transform in an identical way under linear symplectic maps, in general they do not transform identically for nonlinear symplectic maps. Instead there are ``quantum corrections'' whose hbar tending to zero limit may be very complicated. Examples of the behavior of Wigner functions in this limit are given in order to examine to what extent the corresponding Liouville densities are recovered.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.quant-ph/9806056

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It is shown that, while Wigner and Liouville functions transform in an identical way under linear symplectic maps, in general they do not transform identically for nonlinear symplectic maps. Instead there are ``quantum corrections'' whose hbar tending to zero limit may be very complicated. Examples of the behavior of Wigner functions in this limit are given in order to examine to what extent the corresponding Liouville densities are recovered.
We study the properties of the Wigner transform for arbitrary functions in L^2 for hermitian kernels like the so-called density matrices. And we introduce some limits of these transforms for sequences of functions in L^2 , limits that correspond to the semi-classical limit in Quantum Mechanics. The measures we obtain in this way, that we call Wigner measures, have various mathematical properties that we establish. In particular, we prove they satisfy, in linear situations (Schrödinger equations) or nonlinear ones (time-dependent Hartree equations), transport equations of Liouville or Vlasov type.
For the continuous Wigner function and for certain discrete Wigner functions, permuting the values of the Wigner function in accordance with a symplectic linear transformation is equivalent to performing a certain unitary transformation on the state. That is, performing this unitary transformation is simply a matter of moving Wigner-function values around in phase space. This result holds in particular for the simplest discrete Wigner function defined on a d×dd \times dd×d phase space when the Hilbert-space dimension ddd is odd. It does not hold for a d×dd \times dd×d phase space if the dimension is even. Here we show, though, that a generalized version of this correspondence does apply in the case of a two-qubit phase space. In this case, a symplectic linear permutation of the points of the phase space, together with a certain reinterpretation of the Wigner function, is equivalent to a unitary transformation.
For the continuous Wigner function and for certain discrete Wigner functions, permuting the values of the Wigner function in accordance with a symplectic linear transformation is equivalent to performing a certain unitary transformation on the state. That is, performing this unitary transformation is simply a matter of moving Wigner-function values around in phase space. This result holds in particular for the simplest discrete Wigner function defined on a [Formula: see text] phase space when the Hilbert-space dimension [Formula: see text] is odd. It does not hold for a [Formula: see text] phase space if the dimension is even. Here we show, though, that a generalized version of this correspondence does apply in the case of a two-qubit phase space. In this case, a symplectic linear permutation of the points of the phase space, together with a certain reinterpretation of the Wigner function, is equivalent to a unitary transformation.
We prove two results about Wigner distributions. Firstly, that the Wigner transform is the only sesquilinear map \mathcal{S}(\mathbb{R}^n) \times \mathcal{S}(\mathbb{R}^n) \to \mathcal{S}(\mathbb{R}^{2n}) which is bounded and covariant under phase-space translations and linear symplectomorphisms. Consequently, the Wigner distributions form the only set of quasidistributions which is invariant under linear symplectic transformations. Secondly, we prove that the maximal group of (linear or non-linear) coordinate transformations that preserves the set of (pure or mixed) Wigner distributions consists of the translations and the linear symplectic and antisymplectic transformations.
Abstract. We establish the difference between the propagation of semiclassical Wigner functions and classical Liouville propagation. First we re-discuss the semiclassical limit for the propagator of Wigner functions, which on its own leads to their classical propagation. Then, via stationary phase evaluation of the full integral evolution equation, using the semiclassical expressions of Wigner functions, we provide the correct geometrical prescription for their semiclassical propagation. This is determined by the classical trajectories of the tips of the chords defined by the initial semiclassical Wigner function and centered on their arguments, in contrast to the Liouville propagation which is determined by the classical trajectories of the arguments themselves. 1. introduction The Wigner [11] function W is a representation of the quantum density operator ˆρ as a real function on phase space, for a non-relativistic dynamical system with classical-quantum correspondence and n degrees of freedom. Here, all the underlying geometry is euclidean and we can include the Wigner function within the general framework of Weyl representation of operators: Â → A ∈ Ck IR (IR2n), so W(x) = (2π�) −n ρ(x) , where x ≡ (p1,...pn, q1,...qn) denotes a point in phase space. In this context, the quantum evolution of the density operator ˆρt effected by an autonomous external hamiltonian