Asymptotic approximations for the phase space Schrödinger equation

Abstract

We consider semi-classical time evolution for the phase space Schrödinger equation and present two methods of constructing short time asymptotic solutions. The first method consists of constructing a semi-classical phase space propagator in terms of semi-classical Gaussian wave packets on the basis of the anisotropic Gaussian approximation, related to the nearby orbit approximation, which is identified with the phase space representation of the Littlejohn semi-classical propagator. By means of the semi-classical propagator, we derive an asymptotic solution for configuration space WKB initial data. The second method consists of constructing a phase space narrow beam asymptotic solution, following the complex WKB theory developed by Maslov, on the basis of a canonical system in double phase space, analogous to the Berezin–Shubin–Marinov Hamilton–Jacobi and transport equations. We illustrate the methods for sub-quadratic potentials in .