Skip to main content

Questions tagged [coherent-states]

The specific quantum state of the quantum harmonic oscillator, often described as a state which has dynamics most closely resembling the oscillatory behavior of a classical harmonic oscillator. It obeys the minimal uncertainty relation in Heisenberg's uncertainty relationship.

3 votes
1 answer
9k views

Harmonic oscillator coherent state expectation values

I'm looking to calculate the expected values of a coherent state (of a harmonic oscillator) evolving in time. I know that the $x$ and $p$ expectation values are as in classical motion, but I'm ...
Spine Feast's user avatar
  • 2,835
7 votes
1 answer
1k views

Boundary conditions in holomorphic/coherent state path integral

Consider the holomorphic representation of the path integral (for a single degree of freedom): $$ U(a^{*}, a, t'', t') = \int e^{\alpha^{*}(t'') \alpha(t'')} \exp\left\{\intop_{t'}^{t''} dt \left( -a^...
Prof. Legolasov's user avatar
9 votes
3 answers
3k views

Eigenstates of the creation operator

We know that coherent states $\vert\alpha\rangle$ are eigenvectors of the annihilation operator $\hat{a}$, i.e. $$ \hat{a} \vert\alpha\rangle = \alpha \vert\alpha\rangle $$ while the creation operator ...
m137's user avatar
  • 1,211
5 votes
1 answer
644 views

Where do fermionic coherent states live?

Although there have been a couple of questions on fermionic coherent states, I don't think any has answered the question "on what space do fermionic coherent states live?", or at least not ...
Andrew Yuan's user avatar
  • 2,123
12 votes
2 answers
2k views

Why is laser light described by a coherent state?

This is a follow-up to this recent answer by Wouter to this related question from 2015, and a comment by Emilio Pisanty underneath. I have read the papers by Mølmer, Bartlett et al., Wiseman, and ...
The Vee's user avatar
  • 1,347
6 votes
3 answers
5k views

Why are coherent states of harmonic oscillators called "coherent"?

Why are coherent states of the harmonic oscillator called coherent? Coherent in what sense? Why are these states so special/useful? From Wikipedia: In physics, two wave sources are perfectly ...
Luka8281's user avatar
  • 789
4 votes
2 answers
4k views

How to understand the completeness relation for coherent states in the "coherent space"?

In a set of notes it is stated that: Given coherent states of a harmonic oscillator $$| \alpha \rangle = \pi^{-\frac{1}{2}} \text{exp}(-\frac{1}{2}|\alpha|^2)\sum_{n = 0}^{\infty} \frac{\alpha^n}{(n!)^...
user avatar
11 votes
2 answers
1k views

Why use coherent state path integral? What is its motivation or goal?

In almost all textbooks of quantum field theory for high energy, they insert the position and momentum eigenstate to formulate the path integral. While in condensed matter field theory, they insert ...
346699's user avatar
  • 5,971
9 votes
1 answer
663 views

Calculating free energy from coherent state path integral

Edit: It turns out that problem encountered in this question is not limited to BdG Hamiltonians. I am having trouble in using the coherent state path integral approach to calculate the free energy. ...
Zhengyuan Yue's user avatar
7 votes
4 answers
2k views

Derivation of $P$ representation of the thermal density operator

I'm trying to derive the P representation for the thermal state $$ \rho = \sum_{n=0}^\infty \frac{\mathrm{e}^{-\beta \omega n}}{Z} |n\rangle \langle n | $$ where $\beta$ is the inverse temperature, $...
oweydd's user avatar
  • 455
6 votes
2 answers
731 views

Why do coherent states behave semi-classically, but harmonic oscillator states do not?

A coherent state of the quantum harmonic oscillator is defined as an eigenvector $|\alpha\rangle$ of the annihilation operator $\hat a$ with eigenvalue $\alpha$ or as spatial translations of the ...
Daniel Waters's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
1k views

Coherent state vs. classical world

I am very curious as to how the classical field theory emerges from quantum field theory. In free quantum field theories, coherent states have classical properties, namely that the observables' ...
arvinshm's user avatar
  • 124
3 votes
0 answers
619 views

BCS groundstate as eigenstate of the Cooper pair annihilation operator

In section 3.7 of his book Introduction to Superconductivity (2nd Ed.), Tinkham states that [...] we note that S has the eigenvalue $e^{i\varphi}$ in a BCS state in which the the phase of $\Delta$ [.....
Lucas Baldo's user avatar
  • 1,540
2 votes
1 answer
609 views

Coherent states of the form $|{-\alpha}\rangle$

I've a brief question about coherent states in quantum mechanics. As everyone knows, a coherent state is just the proper state of the anhilitation operator $a$, thus they're defined with the ...
Charlie's user avatar
  • 1,172
18 votes
2 answers
4k views

What is a coherent state?

In quantum mechanics, what exactly is a coherent state, and how does it differ from other states?
wrongusername's user avatar

15 30 50 per page