Related papers: Phase Space Correspondence between Classical Optic…
The analogy between dynamics and optics had a great influence on the development of the foundations of classical and quantum mechanics. We take this analogy one step further and investigate the validity of Fermat's principle in…
Classical counterparts of a great variety of quantum systems, from atomic physics to quantum wells and quantum dots, to optical, microwave, and acoustic resonators exhibit partially chaotic dynamics. Since it is often impossible to measure…
We review the problem of state reconstruction in classical and in quantum physics, which is rarely considered at the textbook level. We review a method for retrieving a classical state in phase space, similar to that used in medical imaging…
The Weyl-Wigner representation of quantum mechanics allows one to map the density operator in a function in phase space - the Wigner function - which acts like a probability distribution. In the context of statistical mechanics, this…
A quantum version of transition state theory based on a quantum normal form (QNF) expansion about a saddle-centre-...-centre equilibrium point is presented. A general algorithm is provided which allows one to explictly compute QNF to any…
Precise modeling of extended sources is a central challenge in modern optical engineering, laser physics, and computational lithography. Unlike ideal point sources or completely incoherent thermal radiation sources, real-world light sources…
Time-symmetric quantum mechanics can be described in the usual Weyl--Wigner--Moyal formalism (WWM) by using the properties of the Wigner distribution, and its generalization, the cross-Wigner distribution. The use of the latter makes clear…
In this paper we regard the dynamics obtained from Fermat principle as begin the classical theory of light. We (first-)quantize the action and show how close we can get to the Maxwell theory. We show that Quantum Geometric Optics is not a…
In classical statistical mechanics, the partition function is defined in phase space. We extend this concept to quantum statistical mechanics using Bohmian trajectories. The quantum partition function in phase space captures the ensemble of…
We demonstrate that a tensor product structure and optical analogy of quantum entanglement can be obtained by introducing pseudorandom phase sequences into classical fields with two orthogonal modes. Using the classical analogy, we discuss…
We comprehensively review the quantum theory of the polarization properties of light. In classical optics, these traits are characterized by the Stokes parameters, which can be geometrically interpreted using the Poincar\'e sphere.…
We investigate the transition from quantum to classical mechanics using a one-dimensional free particle model. In the classical analysis, we consider the initial positions and velocities of the particle drawn from Gaussian distributions.…
The ability of matter to be superposed at two different locations while being intrinsically connected by a quantum phase is among the most counterintuitive predictions of quantum physics. While such superpositions have been created for a…
Interactions between charged particles and light occur in real space and time, yet quantum field theory usually describes them in momentum space. Whereas this approach is well suited for calculating emission probabilities and cross…
The conventional phase space of classical physics treats space and time differently, and this difference carries over to field theories and quantum mechanics (QM). In this paper, the phase space is enhanced through two main extensions.…
Students encounter harmonic-oscillator models in many aspects of basic physics, within widely-varying theoretical contexts. Here we highlight the interconnections and varying points of view. We start with the classical mechanics of masses…
The behaviour of classical mechanical systems is characterised by their phase portraits, the collections of their trajectories. Heisenberg's uncertainty principle precludes the existence of sharply defined trajectories, which is why…
Transition from quantum to semiclassical behaviour and loss of quantum coherence for inhomogeneous perturbations generated from a non-vacuum initial state in the early Universe is considered in the Heisenberg and the Schr\"odinger…
The question of how to interpret and compute arrival-time distributions in quantum mechanics remains unsettled, reflecting the longstanding tension between treating time as a quantum observable or as a classical parameter. Most previous…
Notwithstanding radical conceptual differences between classical and quantum mechanics, it is usually assumed that physical measurements concern observables common to both theories . Not so with the eigenvalues ($\pm 1$) of the parity…