Von Neumann equation

describes how a density operator (for pure or for mixed states) evolves in time

Also known as Quantum Liouville Equation, Liouville-von Neumann Equation

continuous-time formula, formula, ordinary differential equation

MaRDI QIDQ6534349FDOCommunityMathModDBWikidataQ2533076ScholiaQ2533076

Named after

John von Neumann, Joseph Liouville

Description

Just as the Schrödinger equation describes how pure states evolve in time, the Liouville-von Neumann equation describes how a density operator evolves in time. Note that there can be different density operators for pure or for mixed states.

Note the similarity with the classical Liouville equation where the commutator brackets [.,.] are replaced by Poisson brackets {.,.}

Formula(s) and Quantities

$\frac{\partial \hat{\rho }}{\partial t}=-\frac{\mathrm{i}}{\hslash }[\hat{H},\hat{\rho }]$

$\hat{H}$ represents Hamiltonian operator

$\hat{\rho }$ represents quantum density operator

$\hslash$ represents reduced Planck constant

$t$ represents time

$\mathrm{i}$ represents imaginary unit

Specializations

Liouville equation	assumes	classical approximation
time-dependent Schrödinger equation	assumes	closed system approximation

Related URL

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Density_matrix#Von_Neumann_equation_for_time_evolution

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