arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to George A. Hagedorn.
We investigate the iterated Kronecker product of a square matrix with itself and prove an invariance property for symmetric subspaces. This motivates the definition of an iterated symmetric Kronecker product and the derivation of an explicit formula for its action on vectors. We apply our result for describing a linear change in the matrix parametrization of semiclassical wave packets.
We present a simple formula for the generating function for the polynomials in the $d$--dimensional semiclassical wave packets. We then use this formula to prove the associated Rodrigues formula.
We construct explicit bound state wave functions and bound state energies for certain $N$--body Hamiltonians in one dimension that are analogous to $N$--electron Hamiltonians for (three-dimensional) atoms and monatomic ions.
Although real, normalized Gaussian wave packets minimize the product of position and momentum uncertainties, generic complex normalized Gaussian wave packets do not. We prove they minimize an alternative product of uncertainties that correspond to variables that are phase space rotations of position and momentum.
We derive a nearly optimal upper bound on the running time in the adiabatic theorem for a switching family of Hamiltonians. We assume the switching Hamiltonian is in the Gevrey class $G^α$ as a function of time, and we show that the error in adiabatic approximation remains small for running times of order $g^{-2}\,|\ln\,g\,|^{6α}$. Here $g$ denotes the minimal spectral gap between the eigenvalue(s) of interest and the rest of the spectrum of the instantaneous Hamiltonian.
We study the time behavior of wave functions involved in tunneling through a smooth potential barrier in one dimension in the semiclassical limit. We determine the leading order component of the wave function that tunnels. It is exponentially small in $1/\hbar$. For a wide variety of incoming wave packets, the leading order tunneling component is Gaussian for sufficiently small $\hbar$. We prove this for both the large time asymptotics and for moderately large values of the time variable.
We propose an alternative to the usual time--independent Born--Oppenheimer approximation that is specifically designed to describe molecules with non--symmetrical hydrogen bonds. In our approach, the masses of the hydrogen nuclei are scaled differently from those of the heavier nuclei, and we employ a specialized form for the electron energy level surface. As a result, the different vibrational modes appear at different orders of approximation. Although we develop a general theory, our analysis is motivated by an examination of the F H Cl- ion. We describe our results for it in detail. We prove the existence of quasimodes and quasienergies for the nuclear vibrational and rotational motion to arbitrary order in the Born--Oppenheimer parameter epsilon. When the electronic motion is also included, we provide simple formulas for the quasienergies up to order epsilon cubed that compare well with experiment and numerical results.
We propose an alternative to the usual time--independent Born--Oppenheimer approximation that is specifically designed to describe molecules with symmetrical Hydrogen bonds. In our approach, the masses of the Hydrogen nuclei are scaled differently from those of the heavier nuclei, and we employ a specialized form for the electron energy level surface. Consequently, anharmonic effects play a role in the leading order calculations of vibrational levels. Although we develop a general theory, our analysis is motivated by an examination of symmetric bihalide ions, such as FHF- or ClHCl-. We describe our approach for the FHF- ion in detail.
We review mathematical results concerning exponentially small corrections to adiabatic approximations and Born--Oppenheimer approximations.
Optimal truncations of asymptotic expansions are known to yield approximations to adiabatic quantum evolutions that are accurate up to exponentially small errors. In this paper, we rigorously determine the leading order non--adiabatic corrections to these approximations for a particular family of two--level analytic Hamiltonian functions. Our results capture the time development of the exponentially small transition that takes place between optimal states by means of a particular switching function. Our results confirm the physics predictions of Sir Michael Berry in the sense that the switching function for this family of Hamiltonians has the form that he argues is universal.
We present the construction of an exponentially accurate time-dependent Born-Oppenheimer approximation for molecular quantum mechanics. We study molecular systems whose electron masses are held fixed and whose nuclear masses are proportional to $ε^{-4}$, where $ε$ is a small expansion parameter. By optimal truncation of an asymptotic expansion, we construct approximate solutions to the time-dependent Schrödinger equation that agree with exact normalized solutions up to errors whose norms are bounded by $\ds C \exp(-γ/ε^2)$, for some C and $γ>0$.
We prove six theorems concerning exponentially accurate semiclassical quantum mechanics. Two of these theorems are known results, but have new proofs. Under appropriate hypotheses, they conclude that the exact and approximate dynamics of an initially localized wave packet agree up to exponentially small errors in $\hbar$ for finite times and for Ehrenfest times. Two other theorems state that for such times the wave packets are localized near a classical orbit up to exponentially small errors. The fifth theorem deals with infinite times and states an exponentially accurate scattering result. The sixth theorem provides extensions of the other five by allowing more general initial conditions.
We construct approximate solutions to the time--dependent Schrödinger equation $i \hbar (\partial ψ)/(\partial t) = - (\hbar^2)/2 Δψ+ V ψ$ for small values of $\hbar$. If $V$ satisfies appropriate analyticity and growth hypotheses and $|t|\le T$, these solutions agree with exact solutions up to errors whose norms are bounded by $C \exp{-γ/\hbar}$, for some $C$ and $γ>0$. Under more restrictive hypotheses, we prove that for sufficiently small $T', |t|\le T' |\log(\hbar)|$ implies the norms of the errors are bounded by $C' \exp{-γ'/\hbar^σ}$, for some $C', γ'>0$, and $σ>0$.
We investigate a numerical method for studying resonances in quantum mechanics. We prove rigorously that this method yields accurate approximations to resonance energies and widths for shape resonances in the semiclassical limit.