Quantum dynamics with mean field interactions: a new approach (Q1022362)

This paper presents a new approach for the study of the time evolution of a factorised \(N\)-particle Bosonic wave function with respect to a mean-field dynamics with a bounded interaction potential. The new technique, which is based on the control of the growth of the correlations among the particles, leads to quantitative bounds on the difference between the many-particle Schrödinger dynamics and one-particle non-linear Hartree dynamics. More precisely, it is shown (assuming that the interaction potential \(V\) is in \(L^\infty\) and its Fourier transform in \(L^1\)) that \[ Tr | \gamma^{(k)}_{N,t} - | \phi_t\rangle \langle \phi_t|^{\otimes k}| \leq C N^{-1}, \] where \(\gamma^{(k)}_{N,t}\) is the \(k\)-particle marginal density matrix associated with the solution of the \(N\)-particle Schrödinger equation \[ i \partial_t \psi_{N,t}= H_N \psi_{N,t}, \] \[ H_N=\sum_{j=1}^N (-\Delta_{x_j} + U(x_j)) +\frac 1 N \sum_{i<j}^N V(x_i-x_j), \] with initial condition \(\psi_{N,0}(x_1,\dots,x_N)= \prod_{i\leq N} \phi (x_i)\), and \(\phi_t\) is the solution to the non-linear Hartree equation \[ i \partial_t \phi_t = (-\Delta +U)\phi_t + (V* |\phi_t|^2)\phi_t. \] Similar results were previously proved in \textit{K. Hepp} [Commun. Math. Phys. 35, 265--277 (1974)], \textit{J. Ginibre} and \textit{G. Velo} [Commun. Math. Phys. 66, 37--76 (1979; Zbl 0443.35067)], [Commun. Math. Phys. 68, 45--68 (1979; Zbl 0443.35068)], \textit{H. Spohn} [Rev. Mod. Phys. 52 (1980)], and \textit{J. Fröhlich et al.} [Commun. Math. Phys. 271, No. 3, 681--697 (2007; Zbl 1172.82011)].