Path Integral Treatment Research Articles

Path integral solution for a deformed radial Rosen–Morse potential

An exact path integral treatment of a particle in a deformed radial Rosen–Morse potential is presented. For this problem with the Dirichlet boundary conditions, the Green’s function is constructed in a closed form by adding to $$V_{q}(r)$$ a $$\delta$$ -function perturbation and making its strength infinitely repulsive. A transcendental equation for the energy levels $$E_{n_{r}}$$ and the wave functions of the bound states can then be deduced.

Path Integral Solution for the Coulomb Potential in a Curved Space of Constant Positive Curvature

A new path integral treatment of a hydrogen-like atom in a uniformly curved space with a constant positive curvature is presented. By converting the radial path integral into a path integral for the modified Poschl-Teller potential with the help of the space-time transformation technique, the radial Green’s function is expressed in closed form, from which the energy spectrum and the corresponding normalized wave functions of the bound states are extracted. In the limit of vanishing curvature, the Green’s function, the energy spectra and the correctly normalized wave functions of bound and scattering states for a standard hydrogen-like atom are found.

Förster resonance energy transfer, absorption and emission spectra in multichromophoric systems. III. Exact stochastic path integral evaluation.

A numerically exact path integral treatment of the absorption and emission spectra of open quantum systems is presented that requires only the straightforward solution of a stochastic differential equation. The approach converges rapidly enabling the calculation of spectra of large excitonic systems across the complete range of system parameters and for arbitrary bath spectral densities. With the numerically exact absorption and emission operators, one can also immediately compute energy transfer rates using the multi-chromophoric Förster resonant energy transfer formalism. Benchmark calculations on the emission spectra of two level systems are presented demonstrating the efficacy of the stochastic approach. This is followed by calculations of the energy transfer rates between two weakly coupled dimer systems as a function of temperature and system-bath coupling strength. It is shown that the recently developed hybrid cumulant expansion (see Paper II) is the only perturbative method capable of generating uniformly reliable energy transfer rates and emission spectra across a broad range of system parameters.

Reaction dynamics under confinement: an exact path integral treatment of a two-stage model of stochastic gene expression

Gene expression in living systems is inherently stochastic, and tends to produce varying numbers of proteins over repeated cycles of transcription and translation. In this paper, an expression is derived for the steady-state protein number distribution starting from a two-stage kinetic model of the gene expression process involving p proteins and r mRNAs. The derivation is based on an exact path integral evaluation of the joint distribution, P(p,r,t), of p and r at time t, which can be expressed in terms of the coupled Langevin equations for p and r that represent the two-stage model in continuum form. The steady-state distribution of p alone, P(p), is obtained from P(p,r,t) (a bivariate Gaussian) by integrating out the r degrees of freedom and taking the limit t → ∞. P(p) is found to be proportional to the product of a Gaussian and a complementary error function. It provides a generally satisfactory fit to simulation data on the same two-stage process when the translational efficiency (a measure of intrinsic noise levels in the system) is relatively low; it is less successful as a model of the data when the translational efficiency (and noise levels) are high.

Green Function of Quantum Liouville Problem via Exact Summation of Perturbation Series

Liouville Problem | Perturbation Series | Fourier Transform | Green Function | Problème de Liouville | Séries de Perturbation | Transformation de Fourier | Fonction de Green | مسألة ليوفيل | سلاسل الاضطراب | تحويل فوري | دالة غرين

Erratum: Feynman path-integral treatment of the BEC-impurity polaron [Phys. Rev. B80, 184504 (2009)

Erratum: Feynman path-integral treatment of the BEC-impurity polaron [Phys. Rev. B<b>80</b>, 184504 (2009)

Path integral treatment of a noncentral electric potential

AbstractWe present a rigorous path integral treatment of a dynamical system in the axially symmetric potential $V(r,\theta ) = V(r) + \tfrac{1} {{r^2 }}V(\theta ) $ . It is shown that the Green’s function can be calculated in spherical coordinate system for $V(\theta ) = \frac{{\hbar ^2 }} {{2\mu }}\frac{{\gamma + \beta \sin ^2 \theta + \alpha \sin ^4 \theta }} {{\sin ^2 \theta \cos ^2 \theta }} $ . As an illustration, we have chosen the example of a spherical harmonic oscillator and also the Coulomb potential for the radial dependence of this noncentral potential. The ring-shaped oscillator and the Hartmann ring-shaped potential are considered as particular cases. When α = β = γ = 0, the discrete energy spectrum, the normalized wave function of the spherical oscillator and the Coulomb potential of a hydrogen-like ion, for a state of orbital quantum number l ≥ 0, are recovered.

Pseudogap and preformed pairs in the imbalanced Fermi gas in two dimensions

The physics of the pseudogap state is intimately linked with the pairing mechanism that gives rise to superfluidity in quantum gases and to superconductivity in high-Tc cuprates, and therefore, both in quantum gases and in superconductors, the pseudogap state and preformed pairs have been under intensive experimental scrutiny. Here, we develop a path integral treatment that provides a divergence-free description of the paired state in two-dimensional Fermi gases. Within this formalism, we derive the pseudogap temperature and the pair fluctuation spectral function, and compare these results with a recent experimental measurement of the pairing in the two-dimensional Fermi gas. The removal of the infrared divergence in the number equations is shown both numerically and analytically, through a study of the long-wavelength and low-energy limit of the pair fluctuation density. Besides the pseudogap temperature, the pair formation temperature and the critical temperature for superfluidity are also derived. The latter corresponds to the Berezinski–Kosterlitz–Thouless (BKT) temperature. The pseudogap temperature, which coincides with the pair formation temperature in the mean field, is found to be suppressed with respect to the pair formation temperature by fluctuations. This suppression is strongest for large binding energies of the pairs. Finally, we investigate how the pair formation temperature, the pseudogap temperature and the BKT temperature behave as a function of both binding energy and imbalance between the pairing partners in the Fermi gas. This allows us to set up phase diagrams for the two-dimensional Fermi gas, in which the superfluid phase, the phase-fluctuating quasicondensate and the normal state can be identified.

A path-integral Langevin equation treatment of low-temperature doped helium clusters

We present an implementation of path integral molecular dynamics for sampling low temperature properties of doped helium clusters using Langevin dynamics. The robustness of the path integral Langevin equation and white-noise Langevin equation [M. Ceriotti, M. Parrinello, T. E. Markland, and D. E. Manolopoulos, J. Chem. Phys. 133, 124104 (2010)] sampling methods are considered for those weakly bound systems with comparison to path integral Monte Carlo (PIMC) in terms of efficiency and accuracy. Using these techniques, convergence studies are performed to confirm the systematic error reduction introduced by increasing the number of discretization steps of the path integral. We comment on the structural and energetic evolution of He(N)-CO(2) clusters from N = 1 to 20. To quantify the importance of both rotations and exchange in our simulations, we present a chemical potential and calculated band origin shifts as a function of cluster size utilizing PIMC sampling that includes these effects. This work also serves to showcase the implementation of path integral simulation techniques within the molecular modelling toolkit [K. Hinsen, J. Comp. Chem. 21, 79 (2000)], an open-source molecular simulation package.

Path integral treatment of the one-dimensional Klein–Gordon oscillator with minimal length

The path integral method is used to present an exact treatment of the one-dimensional Klein–Gordon oscillator in the context of quantum mechanics with a deformed Heisenberg algebra of the form , leading to the existence of a minimal observable length . We tackle the problem in the momentum space and we use the Schwinger proper-time method to represent Green's function. Calculations are run with the help of the point canonical transformation technique. The bound-state energy spectrum and the associated momentum space eigenfunctions are obtained, and a detailed comparison with the results for the undeformed case is made.

Lyapunov decoherence rate in classically chaotic systems

We provide a path integral treatment of the decoherence process induced by a heat bath on a single particle whose dynamics is classically chaotic and show that the decoherence rate is given by the Lyapunov exponent. The loss of coherence is charaterized by the purity, which is calculated semiclassically within diagonal approximation, when the particle initial state is a single Gaussian wave packet. The calculation is performed for weak dissipation and in the high-temperature limit. This situation allows us to simplify the heat bath description to a single random potential. Although the dissipative term is neglected in such approach, the fluctuating one can be treated phenomenologically to fit with the above regime. Our results are therefore valid for times shorter than the inverse of the dissipation rate.

Feynman’s path-integral polaron treatment approached using time-ordered operator calculus

The Feynman all-coupling variational approach for the polaron is re-formulated and extended using the Hamiltonian formalism with time-ordered operator calculus. Special attention is devoted to the excited polaron states. The energy levels and the inverse lifetimes of the excited polaron states are, for the first time, explicitly derived within this all-coupling approach. Remarkable agreement of the obtained transition energies with the peak positions of the polaron optical conductivity calculated using diagrammatic quantum Monte Carlo is obtained.

Feynman path-integral treatment of the BEC-impurity polaron

The description of an impurity atom in a Bose-Einstein condensate can be cast in the form of Frohlich's polaron Hamiltonian, where the Bogoliubov excitations play the role of the phonons. An expression for the corresponding polaronic coupling strength is derived, relating the coupling strength to the scattering lengths, the trap size and the number of Bose condensed atoms. This allows to identify several approaches to reach the strong-coupling limit for the quantum gas polarons, whereas this limit was hitherto experimentally inaccessible in solids. We apply Feynman's path-integral method to calculate for all coupling strengths the polaronic shift in the free energy and the increase in the effective mass. The effect of temperature on these quantities is included in the description. We find similarities to the acoustic polaron results and indications of a transition between free polarons and self-trapped polarons. The prospects, based on the current theory, of investigating the polaron physics with ultracold gases are discussed for lithium atoms in a sodium condensate.

The FZZ-duality conjecture — A proof

We prove that the cigar conformal field theory is dual to the Sine-Liouville model, as conjectured originally by Fateev, Zamolodchikov and Zamolodchikov. Since both models possess the same chiral algebra, our task is to show that correlations of all tachyon vertex operators agree. We accomplish this goal through an off-critical version of the geometric Langlands duality for sl(2). More explicitly, we combine the well-known self-duality of Liouville theory with an intriguing correspondence between the cigar and Liouville field theory. The latter is derived through a path integral treatment. After a very detailed discussion of genus zero amplitudes, we extend the duality to arbitrary closed surfaces.

Temporal coherence of sound transmissions in deep water revisited

This paper examines the signal coherence loss due to internal waves in deep water in terms of the signal coherence time and compare to data reported in the literature over the past 35 years. The coherence time of the early raylike arrivals was previously modeled by Munk and Zachariasen ["Sound propagation through a fluctuating stratified ocean: Theory and observation," J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 59, 818-838 (1976)] using the supereikonal approximation and by Dashen et al. ["Path-integral treatment of acoustic mutual coherence functions for arrays in a sound channel," J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 77, 1716-1722 (1985)] using the path integral approach; a -1 [corrected] power frequency dependence and a -1/2 [corrected] power range dependence were predicted. Recent data in shallow water in downward refractive environments with internal waves suggested that the signal coherence time of the mode arrivals follows a -3/2 power frequency dependence and a -1/2 power range dependence. Since the temporal coherence of the acoustic signal is related to the temporal coherence of the internal waves, based on the observation that the (linear) internal waves in deep and shallow waters have a similar frequency spectrum, it is argued that the modelike arrivals in deep water should exhibit a similar frequency dependence in deep and shallow waters. This argument is supported by a brute-force application of the path integral to mode arrivals based on the WKB relation between the ray and mode. It is found that the data are consistent with the -3/2 power frequency dependence but more data are needed to further test the hypothesis.

Path integral treatment of pair creation by the step potential

In this paper, we use a formalism including supersymmetry to calculate the Green function for the spinning relativistic particle in the presence of the step potential. This is an example of one of simple but fundamental inhomogeneous fields. We obtain an explicit expression of the Polyakov spin factor and the presence of the step gives rise to a correction of a delta potential in the spin–field coupling. The calculation is done using the perturbation technique. The corresponding positive- and negative-energy states are obtained. This Green function is used to evaluate a pair-creation probability in this potential.

Directionally negative friction: A method for enhanced sampling of rare event kinetics

A method exploiting the properties of an artificial (nonphysical) Langevin dynamics with a negative frictional coefficient along a suitable manifold and positive friction in the perpendicular directions is presented for the enhanced calculation of time-correlation functions for rare event problems. Exact time-correlation functions that describe the kinetics of the transitions for the all-positive, physical system can be calculated by reweighting the generated trajectories according to stochastic path integral treatment involving a functional weight based on an Onsager-Machlup action functional. The method is tested on a prototypical multidimensional model system featuring the main elements of conformational space characteristic of complex condensed matter systems. Using the present method, accurate estimates of rate constants require at least three order of magnitudes fewer trajectories than regular Langevin dynamics. The method is particularly useful in calculating kinetic properties in the context of multidimensional energy landscapes that are characteristic of complex systems such as proteins and nucleic acids.

Thermal denaturation of fluctuating finite DNA chains: The role of bending rigidity in bubble nucleation

Statistical DNA models available in the literature are often effective models where the base-pair state only (unbroken or broken) is considered. Because of a decrease by a factor of 30 of the effective bending rigidity of a sequence of broken bonds, or bubble, compared to the double stranded state, the inclusion of the molecular conformational degrees of freedom in a more general mesoscopic model is needed. In this paper we do so by presenting a one-dimensional Ising model, which describes the internal base-pair states, coupled to a discrete wormlike chain model describing the chain configurations [J. Palmeri, M. Manghi, and N. Destainville, Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 088103 (2007)]. This coupled model is exactly solved using a transfer matrix technique that presents an analogy with the path integral treatment of a quantum two-state diatomic molecule. When the chain fluctuations are integrated out, the denaturation transition temperature and width emerge naturally as an explicit function of the model parameters of a well defined Hamiltonian, revealing that the transition is driven by the difference in bending (entropy dominated) free energy between bubble and double-stranded segments. The calculated melting curve (fraction of open base pairs) is in good agreement with the experimental melting profile of poly(dA)-poly(dT) and, by inserting the experimentally known bending rigidities, leads to physically reasonable values for the bare Ising model parameters. Among the thermodynamical quantities explicitly calculated within this model are the internal, structural, and mechanical features of the DNA molecule, such as bubble correlation length and two distinct chain persistence lengths. The predicted variation of the mean-square radius as a function of temperature leads to a coherent explanation for the experimentally observed thermal viscosity transition. Finally, the influence of the DNA strand length is studied in detail, underlining the importance of finite size effects, even for DNA made of several thousand base pairs. Simple limiting formulas, useful for analyzing experiments, are given for the fraction of broken base pairs, Ising and chain correlation functions, effective persistence lengths, and chain mean-square radius, all as a function of temperature and DNA length.

Path-integral treatment of optical and microwave tunneling

A model based on a statistical method, as deduced from a path-integral treatment of the Brownian motion proposed by Feynman and Hibbs in 1965, demonstrates to be capable of interpreting the results of delay time measurements in frustrated total internal reflection experiments at an optical and microwave scale. A plausible description of the trajectories followed by the system inside the tunneling region, the air gap between the two dielectric prisms, is given.

Unified interpretation of superluminal behaviors in wave propagation

By using two approaches, we demonstrate that superluminal behaviors in wave propagation can be attributed to mechanisms acting in the near-field limit. One approach is based on complex waves, while the other relies on a path-integral treatment of stochastic motion. The results of the two approaches are comparable, and suitable for interpreting the data obtained in microwave experiments; these experiments, over a wide range of distances, show a time advance which, in any case, is limited to nanoseconds.