Quantum mechanics, classical

F. Agostini, S. Caprara, and G. Ciccotti. Do we have a consistent non-adiabatic quantum-classical mechanics EPL, 78(3) 30001, 2007. 

Another important property which is missed by the approximate quantum-classical mechanics based on the Liouville representation is the time trasla-tional invariance of the response functions at equilibrium, i.e., given any two operators A and B,... 

The inconsistencies arising from the formulation of quantum-classical mechanics based on eq.(7) are at the origin of important complications within numerical implementations of the resulting quantum-classical molecular dynamics. 

This result concludes the presentation of the Heisenberg group approach as the powerful tool that allows to derive classical mechanics as a formal limit of quantum mechanics, for h —> 0. The most important ingredients that have been introduced to obtain this result are the Fourier-like representation of observables and equations of motion and the definition of the antiderivative operator. These elements will be used in section 5 to derive a similiar procedure for a mixed quantum-classical mechanics. An ansatz on the quantum-classical equations of motion will be necessary, but the subsequent application of Heisenberg group formalism will be a straightforward generalization of what has been done so far. 

In the present and in the following section we discuss the application of the group-theoretical formalism to the formulation of quantum-classical mechanics. Our purpose is to determine evolution equations for two coupled subsystems, with two different degrees of quantization. We have shown in the previous sections that the classical behaviour of a system is formally obtained as a limiting case of the quantum behaviour, when the Planck constant h tends to zero. In this section we will associate two different values of the Planck constant, say hi and /12, to the two subsystems and introduce suitable Lie brackets to determine the evolution of the two subsystems [15]. The consistency, e.g., with respect to Jacobi identity, is guaranteed by the very definition of the... 

We presented the formal elements that are necessary to discuss the mixed quantum-classical mechanics, but we still need to define the dynamical quantities characterizing the two coupled systems to which we associate h and h2 as the values of the Planck constant. 

Beyond the purely classical treatments of these interfaces, where structural and dynamical events are probed, lie the most interesting systems to study systems in which reactions occur. Chemical reactions by their very nature usually require quantum mechanical treatments. Such studies may be purely quantum mechanical or mixed quantum/classical mechanical in nature. Because reactions occur in localized environments, classical treatments of much of the system can dramatically reduce simulation times. Some exploratory studies in this direction have been conducted, and the field is full of possibilities. " > > " ... 

In classical mechanics, the state of the system may be completely specified by the set of Cartesian particle coordinates r. and velocities dr./dt at any given time. These evolve according to Newton s equations of motion. In principle, one can write down equations involving the state variables and forces acting on the particles which can be solved to give the location and velocity of each particle at any later (or earlier) time t, provided one knows the precise state of the classical system at time t. In quantum mechanics, the state of the system at time t is instead described by a well behaved mathematical fiinction of the particle coordinates q- rather than a simple list of positions and velocities. 

The fifth postulate and its corollary are extremely important concepts. Unlike classical mechanics, where everything can in principle be known with precision, one can generally talk only about the probabilities associated with each member of a set of possible outcomes in quantum mechanics. By making a measurement of the quantity A, all that can be said with certainty is that one of the eigenvalues of /4 will be observed, and its probability can be calculated precisely. However, if it happens that the wavefiinction corresponds to one of the eigenfunctions of the operator A, then and only then is the outcome of the experiment certain the measured value of A will be the corresponding eigenvalue. 

Up until now, little has been said about time. In classical mechanics, complete knowledge about the system at any time t suffices to predict with absolute certainty the properties of the system at any other time t. The situation is quite different in quantum mechanics, however, as it is not possible to know everything about the system at any time t. Nevertheless, the temporal behavior of a quantum-mechanical system evolves in a well defined way drat depends on the Hamiltonian operator and the wavefiinction T" according to the last postulate... 

To nnderstand the internal molecnlar motions, we have placed great store in classical mechanics to obtain a picture of the dynamics of the molecnle and to predict associated patterns that can be observed in quantum spectra. Of course, the classical picture is at best an imprecise image, becanse the molecnlar dynamics are intrinsically quantum mechanical. Nonetheless, the classical metaphor mnst surely possess a large kernel of truth. The classical stnichire brought out by the bifiircation analysis has accounted for real patterns seen in wavefimctions and also for patterns observed in spectra, snch as the existence of local mode doublets, and the... 

The set of microstates of a finite system in quantum statistical mechanics is a finite, discrete denumerable set of quantum states each characterized by an appropriate collection of quantum numbers. In classical statistical mechanics, the set of microstates fonn a continuous (and therefore infinite) set of points in f space (also called phase space). 

This is known as the Stefan-Boltzmaim law of radiation. If in this calculation of total energy U one uses the classical equipartition result = k T, one encounters the integral f da 03 which is infinite. This divergence, which is the Rayleigh-Jeans result, was one of the historical results which collectively led to the inevitability of a quantum hypothesis. This divergence is also the cause of the infinite emissivity prediction for a black body according to classical mechanics. 

The discussion thus far in this chapter has been centred on classical mechanics. However, in many systems, an explicit quantum treatment is required (not to mention the fact that it is the correct law of physics). This statement is particularly true for proton and electron transfer reactions in chemistry, as well as for reactions involving high-frequency vibrations. 

Only in the high-energy limit does classical statistical mechanics give accurate values for the sum and density of states tenns in equation (A3.12.15) [3,14]. Thus, to detennine an accurate RRKM lc(E) for the general case, quantum statistical mechanics must be used. Since it is difficult to make anliannonic corrections, both the molecule and transition state are often assumed to be a collection of hannonic oscillators for calculating the... 

As in classical mechanics, the outcome of time-dependent quantum dynamics and, in particular, the occurrence of IVR in polyatomic molecules, depends both on the Flamiltonian and the initial conditions, i.e. the initial quantum mechanical state I /(tQ)). We focus here on the time-dependent aspects of IVR, and in this case such initial conditions always correspond to the preparation, at a time of superposition states of molecular (spectroscopic) eigenstates involving at least two distinct vibrational energy levels. Strictly, IVR occurs if these levels involve at least two distinct... 

There are two basic physical phenomena which govern atomic collisions in the keV range. First, repulsive interatomic interactions, described by the laws of classical mechanics, control the scattering and recoiling trajectories. Second, electronic transition probabilities, described by the laws of quantum mechanics, control the ion-surface charge exchange process. 

Tuckerman M E and Hughes A 1998 Path integral molecular dynamics a computational approach to quantum statistical mechanics Classical and Quantum Dynamics In Condensed Phase Simulations ed B J Berne, G Ciccotti and D F Coker (Singapore World Scientific) pp 311-57... 

The relative shift of the peak position of the rotational distiibution in the presence of a vector potential thus confirms the effect of the geometric phase for the D + H2 system displaying conical intersections. The most important aspect of our calculation is that we can also see this effect by using classical mechanics and, with respect to the quantum mechanical calculation, the computer time is almost negligible in our calculation. This observation is important for heavier systems, where the quantum calculations ai e even more troublesome and where the use of classical mechanics is also more justified. 

The picture here is of uncoupled Gaussian functions roaming over the PES, driven by classical mechanics. The coefficients then add the quantum mechanics, building up the nuclear wavepacket from the Gaussian basis set. This makes the treatment of non-adiabatic effects simple, as the coefficients are driven by the Hamiltonian matrices, and these elements couple basis functions on different surfaces, allowing hansfer of population between the states. As a variational principle was used to derive these equations, the coefficients describe the time dependence of the wavepacket as accurately as possible using the given... 

This proves that the pseudoparticles in the quantum fluid obey classical mechanics in the classical limit. 

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