Proceedings of the 11th SPVM National Physics Conference and Workshop

c 2009 SPVM. All rights reserved. ISSN 1655-4620. http://physics.msuiit.edu.ph/spvm

13
On the White Noise Path Integration Approach to the
Damped Harmonic Oscillator
Ryan John A. Cuberoa∗ and Jinky B. Bornalesa† .
a
Physics Department, Mindanao State University - Iligan Institute of Technology,
A. Bonifacio Avenue, Tibanga, 9200 Iligan City, Philippines

The propagator for the damped harmonic oscillator whose motion is described by the Caldirola-Kanai
Lagrangian, L(ẋ, x, t) = 21 (exp(γt)ẋ2 −exp(γt)ν 2 x2 ), is calculated by reformulating the path integral in terms
of the Brownian functionals and employing the S- and T- transforms in white noise analysis to evaluate the
path integral.

Dissipative systems occur frequently in na-
ture. In the Newtonian formulation, dissipative
forces are not so difficult to account for in a
phenomenological manner - the Stoke’s linear
frictional force proportional to the velocity v,
Dirac’s radiation damping ∼ v̈, and the viscous
force ∼ ∇2 v [5] to name a few.
In the microscopic realm, dissipation can be
pointed out by considering the behavior of elec-
trons in an insulating media under the influence
of a large external field. These electrons have
the tendency to transfer appreciable amounts
of energy locally to the lattices through the
coupling with optical phonons. Moreover, it
was found out experimentally that the optical
phonons were capable of dissipating the elec-
tron’s energy, as cited [4] . Furthermore, the en-
ergy dissipated by the actual oscillator of inter-
est is absorbed at the same pace by an artificial
device that takes place in the physical reservoir
to which this system is coupled [5] . Unlike in
classical mechanics, accounting for the dissipa-
tive forces in quantum systems are not that easy
to do.
The dissipative and irreversible behavior of
the majority of physical phenomena have deeply
troubled science with an intriguing yet enduring
problem. It is because of this that a growing in-
terest arose about the problems of dissipation in
quantum mechanics. Consequently, more and
more have shown interest in providing a consis-
tent description of these kinds of systems which
has found many applications especially in quan-
tum optics and nuclear physics.
Being the simplest model for the dissipative
system, it is equally important to provide a
∗ Email address: cubero.ryan@yahoo.com
† Email address: jbornales@yahoo.com
quantum description of the damped harmonic
oscillator. One of the ways of providing a de-
scription of the entire dynamics of this system
is by obtaining the quantum mechanical propa-
gator. This nonrelativistic mathematical object
is often referred to as the transition probability
amplitude which propagates the wave function
from a starting point x0 at time t0 to the final
point x1 at the final time t1 [8] . Carried by the
propagator are important informations of a par-
ticle such as the wave function and the energy
spectrum which, in turn, describes the particle
considered.
In this paper, we shall evaluate the quantum
propagator of a damped harmonic oscillator us-
ing the white noise path integral approach. It
should be noted that the interpretation diffi-
culties of the Caldirola-Kanai Lagrangian are
disregarded, that is, the Caldirola-Kanai La-
grangian is assumed as a passable description
to the system mentioned. Also, from this point
throughout, the m and h̄ are set to unity for
convenience in the calculation.
1. The Caldirola-Kanai Model:
Damped Harmonic Oscillator
The study of dissipative quantum systems,
especially the damped harmonic oscillator, has
a rather long history. About half a century ago,
Kanai adopted a Hamiltonian,
p2 1
H= exp(−γt) + exp(γt)ν 2 x2 , (1)
2 2
where p is the momentum, x is the coordinate, γ
is the constant damping coefficient, and ν is the
angular frequency. Through the Lagrange equa-
tion, a canonical transformation of the Hamil-
 On the White Noise Path Integration Approach to the Damped Harmonic Oscillator — 14

tonian gives us the Lagrangian setting y in Eq. (5) to zero, SV [x] can be ex-
pressed as [6]
1
L= (exp(γt)ẋ2 − exp(γt)ν 2 x2 ). (2) 1
2 SV [x] ≈ hω, SV00 ωi. (7)
2
Eq. (2) is the Lagrangian of a damped har- R
monic oscillator and this is usually referred to as where the inner product hω, ξi ≡ ωξdτ and
the Caldirola-Kanai Model. This was first pro- h̄ t1
Z
posed by Caldirola in 1941 and subsequently, SV00 (τ1 , τ2 ) = V 00 (x(τ ))dτ, (8)
m τ1 ∨τ2
Kanai in 1948 in order to study the quantum
mechanics of damped harmonic oscillators. where V 00 = exp(γt)ν 2 and τ1 ∨ τ2 =
min(τ1 , τ2 ) = τ2 are some arbitrary time be-
2. Evaluation of the Propagator using tween the initial time t0 and the final time t1 of
White Noise Path Integration the propagator.
With Eq. (6), together with Eq. (7), the
With Eq. (2), we are now ready to set-up exponential of the action in terms of the white
the Feynman integrand and translate it to the noise variable, ω, can now be written as
language of white noise calculus for evaluation. Z t1 
Using Eq.(2), the corresponding action for a i 2
exp exp(γt)ẋ dt − iSV [x]
damped harmonic oscillator is given by t0 2
Z t1 
Z t1 i i
S=
1
(exp(γt)ẋ2 − ν 2 exp(γt)x2 )dt (3) = exp exp(γt)ω̇ 2 dτ − hω, SV00 ωi .
2 t0 2 2
t0
(9)
and the Feynman propagator
Bearing in mind the correspondence between
dµ(ω) and d∞ x [6]
Z Z t1 
i 2
K(x, ẋ, t) = N exp exp(γt)ẋ dt
t0 2
 Z 
1
h i dµ(ω) = Nω exp − ω(τ ) dτ d∞ ω (10)
2

× exp − iSV [x] D[x] (4) 2

where SV [x] is a function that depends on
the potential V = 12 exp(γt)ν 2 x2 and D[x] is
the infinite-dimensional Lebesgue measure. It
should be noted that the integration in the
Feynman propagator has long been criticized
for its lack of mathematical meaning with its
infinite-dimensional ’flat’ measure D[x] which
does not exist in infinite dimensional spaces.[8]
To evaluate Eq. (4) in the framework of white
noise analysis, the paths x(t) of the action must
be parametrized by introducing trajectories of
x consisting of a sure path y plus a Brownian
fluctuation [6]
h̄ 1/2

tation, the Feynman propagator in the frame-
x(τ ) = y(τ ) + m B(τ ) (5)
R
where B = ω(τ )dτ is the Brownian motion
and ω is the white noise variable.
Thus, the power of the first exponential in (4)
can be expressed as
Z t1 Z t1
i 2 i IDHO = N exp − 12 hω, −(i exp(γt) + 1)ωi
exp(γt)ẋ dt = exp(γt)ω̇ 2 dτ. (6)
t0 2 t0 2
The potential V (x) = 21 exp(γt)ν 2 x2 thus,
SV [x], depends at most quadratically on Brow-
nian motion. By Taylor Series expansion and
where Nω is the normalization factor and expo-
nential in dµ(ω) is responsible for the Gaussian
fall-off. The Gaussian measure dµ(ω) is noted
as a natural measure to use for infinite dimen-
sional analysis [8] , unlike the Lebesgue measure
which only exists in finite-dimensional spaces.
The parametrization of the paths x(t) in Eq.
(5) shows that only the initial point x0 is fixed
from where the random Brownian motion be-
gins. Thus, the endpoint needs to be fixed with
a Donsker delta function δ(x(t) − x1 ) such that
at time t1 , the particle is at x1 .
With Eqs. (9) and (10) and expressing the
Donsker delta function in its Fourier represen-
work of white noise analysis is now given as
Z
K(x0 , x1 , t) = IDHO dµ(ω) (11)
where x0 and x1 are the initial and final points
and IDHO is the white noise functional given by


1
× exp − 12 hω, iSV00 ωi ×


Z 2π


× exp iλ hω, 1[0,t] i − x1 dλ. (12)

R.J.A. Cubero, J.B. Bornales • October 2009

15 — On the White Noise Path Integration Approach to the Damped Harmonic Oscillator

with 1[0,t] as a unitary vector. We are now left with the evaluation of the in-
We note that in Eq. (11), the integration over ner products he, (−i exp(γt) + iSV00 )−1 ei and the
i−1/2
dµ(ω) is just the T − transform of IDHO . 00
 h
−i exp(γt)+iSV
determinant det −i exp(γt) in Eq.
3. The T − transform of the White Noise (15). These are the next calculations that we
Functional IDHO have to make.

We shall now evaluate the T − transform of 4. Concluding Remarks

the functional IDHO . To do this, we shall first
take the S− transform of IDHO , that is In this paper, we have studied the damped
harmonic oscillator in the framework of white
Z
noise analysis. Using the Lagrangian in Eq. (2),
SIDHO (ξ) = C(ξ) IDHO exp(hω, ξi)dµ(ω)
we have set-up the white noise functional IDHO
1
Z Z in Eq. (12). By using the S− and T − trans-
= C(ξ)N e−iλy ehω,ξi+iλhω,χ[0,t] i forms in white noise analysis, we have shown
2π
1 00 that the propagator for the damped harmonic
× e− 2 hω,(−i exp(γt)−1+iSV )ωi dλdµ(ω) oscillator can be obtained using the white noise
= C(ξ) 2πthe, (−i exp(γt) + iSV00 )−1 ei path integral approach.
−1/2
−i exp(γt) + iSV00

× det 5. References
−i exp(γt)
 1. Cheng, B. K. Exact evaluation of the propagator for
1
× exp hξ, (−i exp(γt) + iSV00 )−1 ξi the damped harmonic oscillator. J. Phys. A : Math
2 Gen. Vol 17, p2475-2484. (1984).
1 2. Grosche, C. and Steiner, F. Handbook of Feynman
+ Path Integrals. Berlin : Springer, 1998.
2he, (−i exp(γt) + iSV00 )−1 ei 3. Pepore, S., et al. Path Integral for a Harmonic Os-
 2 # cillator with Time-Dependent Mass and Frequency.
x 00 −1 ScienceAsia. Vol 32, p173-179. (2006).
× √ − ihξ, (−i exp(γt) + iSV ) ei
t 4. Thornber, K. Applications of Path Integrals in Dis-
sipation. Path Integrals and their Applications in
(13) Quantum, Statistical, and Solid State Physics. Eds.
Papadopoulos and Devreese. Belgium. p359-382.
where C(ξ) = exp(− 12 ξ 2 dτ ) is the charac-
R
(1977).
5. Dekker, H. Classical and Quantum Mechanics of the
teristic functional which is the Fourier trans-
Damped Harmonic Oscillator. Phys. Reports. Vol.
form of the probability measure µ on the dis- 80, p1-110. (1981).
tribution space of the generalized functions, 6. Hida, T and Streit, L. Generalized Brownian Func-
e = t−1/2 χ[0,t] is a unit vector and χ is an op- tionals and the Feynman Integral. Stoc. Process.
and their Appl., Vol. 16, p55-69. (1983).
erator. 7. Grothaus, M., et. al. The Feynman integral for time-
With Eq. (13), the corresponding T − trans- dependent anharmonic oscillator. J. Math. Phys.,
form of IDHO , that is [9] Vol. 38, p3278-3299. (1997).
8. Kubo, H.K. White Noise Theory. Handbook of Sto-
T IDHO (ξ) = C(ξ)SIDHO (iξ) (14) chastic Analysis and Applications. Eds Kannan and
Lakshmikantham. p107-158. (2002).
9. Bernido, C. and Carpio-Bernido, M. V. White Noise
can be calculated and the result yields Analysis and the Feynman Path Integral. Bohol :
Proc. of the 3rd Jagna International Workshop. Eds
T IDHO (ξ) = 2πthe, (−i exp(γt) + iSV00 )−1 ei Bernido, Carpio-Bernido and L. Streit. 55-69. 2002.
−1/2
−i exp(γt) + iSV00

× det
−i exp(γt)

1
× exp hξ, (−i exp(γt) + iSV00 )−1 ξi
2
1
+
2he, (−i exp(γt) + iSV00 )−1 ei
 2 #
x 00 −1
× √ − ihξ, (−i exp(γt) + iSV ) ei .
t
(15)

R.J.A. Cubero, J.B. Bornales • October 2009