Exact phase space localized projectors from energy eigenstates

DOI10.1016/J.PHYSLETA.2012.11.032zbMATH Open1298.81012arXiv1207.0992OpenAlexW1979220424MaRDI QIDQ469752FDOQ469752

J. J. Halliwell

Publication date: 11 November 2014

Published in: Physics Letters. A (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: In investigations of the emergence of classicality from quantum theory, a useful step is the construction of quantum operators corresponding to the classical notion that the system resides in a region of phase space. The simplest such constructions, using coherent states, yield operators which are approximate projection operators -- their eigenvalues are approximately equal to 1 or 0. Such projections may be shown to have close to classical behaviour under time evolution and these results have been used to prove some useful results about emergent classicality in the decoherent histories approach to quantum theory. Here, we show how to use the eigenstates of a suitably chosen Hamiltonian to construct exact projection operators which are localized on regions of phase. We elucidate the properties of such operators and explore their time evolution. For the special case of the harmonic oscillator, the time evolution is particularly simple, and we find sets of phase space localized histories which are exactly decoherent for any initial state and have probability 1 for classical evolution. These results show how approximate decoherence of histories and classical predictability for phase space histories may be made exact in certain cases.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/1207.0992

Recommendations

• Quantum-classical correspondence using projection operators
• On the phase operator
• Oscillator eigenstates concentrated on classical trajectories
• Operators of the phase. Fundamentals
• Coherent state quantization and phase operator

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Quantum state spaces, operational and probabilistic concepts (81P16)

Cites Work

• Title not available (Why is that?)
• Title not available (Why is that?)
• Quantum noise
• Semi-classical mechanics in phase space: A study of Wigner’s function
• Quantum-classical correspondence using projection operators
• Title not available (Why is that?)
• A time dependent Born-Oppenheimer approximation
• Orthonormal coherent states on von Neumann lattices
• von Neumann's hypothesis concerning coherent states
• Exact positivity of the Wigner andP-functions of a Markovian open system

Cited In (1)

• Projection operators for time-symmetrized states in Fock space.

This page was built for publication: Exact phase space localized projectors from energy eigenstates

Report a bug (only for logged in users!)Click here to report a bug for this page (MaRDI item Q469752)