Autocorrelation function classical limits

A semiclassical description is well established when both the Hamilton operator of the system and the quantity to be calculated have a well-defined classical analog. For example, there exist several semiclassical methods for calculating the vibrational autocorrelation function on a single excited electronic surface, the Fourier transform of which yields the Franck-Condon spectmm [108, 109, 150, 244]. In particular, semiclassical methods based on the initial-value representation of the semiclassical propagator [104-111, 245-248], which circumvent the cumbersome root-search problem in boundary-value-based semiclassical methods, have been successfully applied to a variety of systems (see, for example, Refs. 110, 111, 161, and 249 and references therein). The mapping procedure introduced in Section VI results in a quantum-mechanical Hamiltonian with a well-defined classical limit, and therefore it... 

However, if the initial state is a thermal state, such as the canonical den-sity matrix p - (1/Z)exp(- 3//), the autocorrelation is no longer given by a single quantum amplitude but becomes a sum of quantum amplitudes in which quantum phases are randomized. In the classical limit ft - 0, the leading expression becomes the purely classical autocorrelation function with the dynamics being ruled by the classical Liouvillian operator ci = Hci> ... 

The time autocorrelation function can be written as a transition dipole correlation function, a form that is equally useful for an inhomogeneously broadened spectrum. This is the form that is extensively used to discuss the spectral effects of the environment (32-34). The dipole correlation function also provides for the novice an intuitively clear prescription as to how to compute a spectrum using classical dynamics. For the expert it points out limitations of this, otherwise very useful, approximation. The required transformation is to rewrite the spectrum so that the time evolution is carried by the dipole operator rather than by the bright state wave packet. The conceptual advantage is that it is easier to imagine what the classical limit will be because what is readily provided by classical mechanics trajectory computations is the time dependence of the coordinates and momenta and hence, of functions thereof. In other words, in our mind it is easier to... 

Dual Lanczos transformation theory is a projection operator approach to nonequilibrium processes that was developed by the author to handle very general spectral and temporal problems. Unlike Mori s memory function formalism, dual Lanczos transformation theory does not impose symmetry restrictions on the Liouville operator and thus applies to both reversible and irreversible systems. Moreover, it can be used to determine the time evolution of equilibrium autocorrelation functions and crosscorrelation functions (time correlation functions not describing self-correlations) and their spectral transforms for both classical and quantum systems. In addition, dual Lanczos transformation theory provides a number of tools for determining the temporal evolution of the averages of dynamical variables. Several years ago, it was demonstrated that the projection operator theories of Mori and Zwanzig represent special limiting cases of dual Lanczos transformation theory. 

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