Hydrodynamic equations for mixed quantum states. II. Coupled electronic states

Abstract

A hydrodynamic approach is developed to describe nonadiabatic nuclear dynamics. We derive a hierarchy of hydrodynamic equations which are equivalent to the exact quantum Liouville equation for coupled electronic states. It is shown how the interplay between electronic populations and coherences translates into the coupled dynamics of the corresponding hydrodynamic fields. For the particular case of pure quantum states, the hydrodynamic hierarchy terminates such that the dynamics may be described in terms of the local densities and momentum fields associated with each of the electronic states.