Asymptotic Time Decay In Quantum Physics

Time decays form the basis of a multitude of important and interesting phenomena in quantum physics that range from spectral properties, resonances, return and approach to equilibrium, to quantum mixing, dynamical stability preperties and irreversibility and the "arrow of time." This monograph is devoted to a clear and precise, yet pedagogical account of the associated concepts and methods.

A simplified, yet rigorous treatment of scattering theory methods and their applications Dispersion Decay and Scattering Theory provides thorough, easy-to-understand guidance on the application of scattering theory methods to modern problems in mathematics, quantum physics, and mathematical physics. Introducing spectral methods with applications to dispersion time-decay and scattering theory, this book presents, for the first time, the Agmon-Jensen-Kato spectral theory for the Schr?dinger equation, extending the theory to the Klein-Gordon equation. The dispersion decay plays a crucial role in the modern application to asymptotic stability of solitons of nonlinear Schr?dinger and Klein-Gordon equations. The authors clearly explain the fundamental concepts and formulas of the Schr?dinger operators, discuss the basic properties of the Schr?dinger equation, and offer in-depth coverage of Agmon-Jensen-Kato theory of the dispersion decay in the weighted Sobolev norms. The book also details the application of dispersion decay to scattering and spectral theories, the scattering cross section, and the weighted energy decay for 3D Klein-Gordon and wave equations. Complete streamlined proofs for key areas of the Agmon-Jensen-Kato approach, such as the high-energy decay of the resolvent and the limiting absorption principle are also included. Dispersion Decay and Scattering Theory is a suitable book for courses on scattering theory, partial differential equations, and functional analysis at the graduate level. The book also serves as an excellent resource for researchers, professionals, and academics in the fields of mathematics, mathematical physics, and quantum physics who would like to better understand scattering theory and partial differential equations and gain problem-solving skills in diverse areas, from high-energy physics to wave propagation and hydrodynamics.

The treatment of time in quantum mechanics is still an important and challenging open question in the foundation of the quantum theory. This multi-authored book, written as an introductory guide for newcomers to the subject, as well as a useful source of information for the expert, covers many of the open questions. The book describes the problems, and the attempts and achievements in defining, formalizing and measuring different time quantities in quantum theory.

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the theoretical foundations of quantum tunneling, stressing the basic physics underlying the applications. The topics addressed include exponential and nonexponential decay processes and the application of scattering theory to tunneling problems. In addition to the Schrödinger equation approach, the path integral, Heisenberg's equations and the phase space method are all used to study the motion of a particle under the barrier. Extensions to the multidimensional cases and tunneling of particles with internal degrees of freedom are also considered. Furthermore, recent advances concerning time delay and tunneling times and some of the problems associated with their measurement are also discussed. Finally, some examples of tunneling in atomic, molecular, nuclear and condensed matter physics are presented.

This monograph addresses researchers and students. It is a modern presentation of time-dependent methods for studying problems of scattering theory in the classical and quantum mechanics of N-particle systems. Particular attention is paid to long-range potentials. For a large class of interactions the existence of the asymptotic velocity and the asymptotic completeness of the wave operators is shown. The book is self-contained and explains in detail concepts that deepen the understanding. As a special feature of the book, the beautiful analogy between classical and quantum scattering theory (e.g., for N-body Hamiltonians) is presented with deep insight into the physical and mathematical problems.

Time and quantum mechanics have, each of them separately, captivated s- entists and laymen alike, as shown by the abundance of popular publications on “time” or on the many quantum mysteries or paradoxes. We too have been seduced by these two topics, and in particular by their combination. Indeed, the treatment of time in quantum mechanics is one of the important and challenging open questions in the foundations of quantum theory. This book describes the problems, and the attempts and achievements in de?ning, formalizing and measuring di?erent time quantities in quantum theory, such as the parametric (clock) time, tunneling times, decay times, dwell times, delay times, arrival times or jump times. The theoretical analysis of several of these quantities has been controversial and is still subject to debate. For example, there are literally hundreds of research papers on the tunneling time. In fact, the standard recipe to link the observables and the formalism does not seem to apply, at least in an obvious manner, to time observables. This has posed the challenge of extending the domain of ordinary quantum mechanics.

The treatment of time in quantum mechanics is still an important and challenging open question in the foundation of the quantum theory. This multi-authored book, written as an introductory guide for newcomers to the subject, as well as a useful source of information for the expert, covers many of the open questions. The book describes the problems, and the attempts and achievements in defining, formalizing and measuring different time quantities in quantum theory.

This work contains contributions presented at the conference, QMath-8: Mathematical Results in Quantum Mechanics'', held at Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico in December 2001. The articles cover a wide range of mathematical problems and focus on various aspects of quantum mechanics, quantum field theory and nuclear physics. Topics vary from spectral properties of the Schrodinger equation of various quantum systems to the analysis of quantum computation algorithms. The book should be suitable for graduate students and research mathematicians interested in the mathematical aspects of quantum mechanics.