This report aims to give an insight to the path integral formalism in quantum mechanics. After explaining the kernel's construction, some of its properties and ways to compute it, we see how it relates to the Schrödinger picture. Moreover, we see how its representation can change if it is defined in the space, momentum, time or energy space. Finally, we derive Born's expansion with the kernel showing how this formalism helps to understand perturbation theory and thus scattering. The path integral formalism is then used in quantum field theory with proofs and examples of simple correlation functions. Furthermore, supersymmetry in zero and one dimension are studied with use of the localization principle and the Witten index.

<p>This dissertation focuses on emergent geometry from SU(1,1) dynamical symmetry and non-Hermitian physics. While the geometrical approach unifies distinct phenomena in Hermitian and non-Hermitian systems, it also provides distinct means of coherent control of quantum dynamics and simulating exotic spacetimes.</p>

The focus of this thesis is to introduce the path integral and some of its applications. One interpretation of quantum mechanics is that a microscopic system which moves from an initial- to a final state moves through each possible intermediate state. The path integral uses the principle of least action to sum over all such intermediate states to find the evolution of a quantum mechanical system. We compare the path integral approach to that of the Schrödinger equation and show that the two give an equivalent description of quantum mechanics. To demonstrate the usefulness of the path integral, we introduce low-dimensional quantum field theory (QFT). In particular, we discuss Feynman diagrams. The idea behind Feynman diagrams is to sum over all possible weak interactions between fields to evaluate the properties of a system through the path integral. We also carry out a computation of a low energy effective action in a 0-dimensional model. The result of the computation shows that there is free energy also in a vacuum. Finally, we briefly generalize some of the previous discussion to 1-dimensional QFT. To give an example of a practical application, we give a qualitative discussion of how the path integral can be applied to statistical mechanics to predict the behaviour of superfluids. / Målet med den här rapporten är att introducera konceptet vägintegral och några av dess applikationer. En tolkning av kvantmekanik är att ett mikroskopiskt system som går från ett initialt- till ett slutgiltigt tillstånd kommer att passera genom alla möjliga mellanliggande tillstånd. Vägintegralen använder sig av principen om minsta verkan för att summera över alla sådana mellanliggande tillstånd för att hitta utvecklingen hos ett system. Vi kommer att jämföra vägintegralen med Schrödingers ekvation och visa att de två ger en ekvivalent beskrivning av kvantmekaniken. För att demonstrera vägintegralens användbarhet introducerar vi lågdimensionell kvantfältteori. Vi diskuterar speciellt Feynmandiagram. Idén bakom Feynmandiagram är att summera över alla möjliga svaga interaktioner mellan fält för att utvärdera fysikaliska egenskaper hos system med hjälp av vägintegraler. Vi kommer också att utvärdera en effektiv verkan i 0-dimensionell kvantfältteori. Resultatet visar att det finns fri energi även i ett vakuum. Slutligen generaliserar vi delar av vår tidigare diskussion till 1-dimensionell kvantfältteori. Som ett exempel på praktiska applikationer för vi en kvalitativ diskussion kring hur vägintegraler kan användas inom statistisk mekanik för att förutsäga egenskaper hos superfluider.

When an anode electrode potential is larger than the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of the electrolyte, Li-ions and electrolyte molecules will participate in reduction reactions on the anode surface and form a solid electrolyte interface (SEI) layer. Active Li-ion consumption in the formation reactions is the main source of capacity loss (>50) and ageing in Li-ion batteries (LIBs). Due to the fast-occurring and complex nature of the electrochemical processes, conventional experimental techniques are not a feasible approach for capturing and characterizing the SEI formation phenomenon. The lack of experimental data and consequently the absence of potential parameters for crystal structures in this layer makes molecular dynamics~(MD) simulations inapplicable to it. Also, due to the multi-component multi-layer structure of the SEI, the smallest system representing an SEI layer is too large for employing the principles of quantum mechanics~(QM), that traditionally work with much smaller system sizes. Addressing this, this thesis presents a novel computational framework for coupling QM and MD calculations to simulate a system with the size limits of MD simulations independent of the experimental data. The QM evaluates sub-atomic properties such as energy barriers against diffusion and employs seven new algorithms to estimate potential parameters as the input of the MD simulations. Then MD simulations forecast SEI's properties including density, Young's Modules, Poisson's Ratio, thermal conductivity, and diffusion coefficient mechanisms. The output of the QM and MD calculations are employed to develop two macro-scale mathematical models for predicting battery ageing and battery performance, incorporating the impact of the SEI layer in addition to the cathode, anode, and separator parts. Finally, the results obtained have been validated with respect to the experimental data in different operational conditions. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / The limited lifespan of expensive batteries is the main obstacle to electrification of the transport sector, despite its necessity for addressing the current environmental issues. Li+/electrolyte reduction on the electrode surface is responsible for more than 50% of capacity loss and the consequent ageing is a complex and fast-occurring phenomenon (few ns) that cannot be easily resolved using conventional experimental and computational techniques. This thesis presents the development of some computational frameworks and demonstrates their employment to investigate this phenomenon from a multi-scale perspective, i.e., from a few electrons to an entire battery length scale, with the operating cycles ranging from a few ps to several months, employing Quantum Mechanics, Molecular Dynamics, and Macro-Scale Modeling. The frameworks have been successfully validated with respect to experimental data from the literature and have been applied successfully to highlight the parameters that impact ageing in batteries. The findings presented in this thesis can be used as the base for further research on next-gen durable batteries with liquid and solid-state electrolytes.

Research was performed to improve the procedures for testing performance parameters of vapor cells for a nuclear-magnetic-resonance gyroscope. In addition to summarizing the theoretical infrastructure of the technology, this research resulted in the development and successful implementation of new techniques to characterize gyro cell performance. One of the most important parameters to measure for gyro performance is the longitudinal spin lifetime of polarized xenon atoms in the vapor cell. The newly implemented technique for measuring these lifetimes matches results from the industry standard method to within 3.5% error while reducing the average testing time by 76% and increasing data resolution by 54%. The vapor cell test methods were appended with new software to expedite the analysis of test data and to investigate more subtle details of the results; one of the two isotopes of xenon in the cells tends to exhibit troublesome second-order effects during these tests due to electric-quadrupole coupling, but now the added analysis capabilities can accurately extract relevant results from such data with no extra effort. Some extraneous lifetime measurement techniques were explored with less substantial results, but they provided useful insight into the complex workings of the gyro cell test system. New criteria were established to define the signal to noise ratio on a consistent basis from cell to cell across various parameters such as cell volume, temperature, and vapor pressure. A technique for measuring gas pressures inside the sealed cells helped link cell performance to cell development processes. This led to informed decisions on filling and sealing methods that consistently yielded cells with better performance in the last few months of this work. When this research began, cells with xenon lifetimes over ten seconds were rare in our lab; by the end, anything under 30 seconds was a disappointment. Not only did the test procedures improve, but so did the parameters being tested, and quite significantly at that. At the same time, many new avenues for continued progress have been opened; the work presented here, while instrumental, is only the beginning.

Using the idea that a quantum mechanical system drops to its ground state as its temperature goes to absolute zero several operators are devised to enable the approximation of the lowest order energy eigenstate of a given symmetry; as well as an approximation to the energy eigenvalue of the same order.

<p>Over the past two decades, open systems that are described by a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian have become a subject of intense research. These systems encompass classical wave systems with balanced gain and loss, semi-classical models with mode selective losses, and lossy quantum systems. The rapidly growing research on these systems has mainly focused on the wide range of novel functionalities they demonstrate. In this thesis, I intend to present some intriguing properties of a class of open systems which possess parity (P) and time-reversal (T) symmetry with a theoretical background, accompanied by the experimental platform these are realized on. These systems show distinct regions of broken and unbroken symmetries separated by a special phase boundary in the parameter space. This separating boundary is called the PT-breaking threshold or the PT transition threshold.</p> <p>We investigate non-Hermitian systems in two settings: tight binding lattice models, and electrical circuits, with the help of theoretical and numerical techniques. </p> <p><br></p> <p>With lattice models, we explore the PT-symmetry breaking threshold in discrete realizations of systems with balanced gain and loss which is determined by the effective coupling between the gain and loss sites. In one-dimensional chains, this threshold is maximum when the two sites are closest to each other or the farthest. We investigate the fate of this threshold in the presence of parallel, strongly coupled, Hermitian (neutral) chains, and find that it is increased by a factor proportional to the number of neutral chains. These results provide a surprising way to engineer the PT threshold in experimentally accessible samples.</p> <p>In another example, we investigate the PT-threshold for a one-dimensional, finite Kitaev chain—a prototype for a p-wave superconductor— in the presence of a single pair of gain and loss potentials as a function of the superconducting order parameter, onsite potential, and the distance between the gain and loss sites. In addition to a robust, non-local</p> <p>threshold, we find a rich phase diagram for the threshold that can be qualitatively understood in terms of the band-structure of the Hermitian Kitaev model.</p> <p>Finally, with electrical circuits, we propose a protocol to study the properties of a PT-symmetric system in a single LC oscillator circuit which is contrary to the notion that these systems require a pair of spatially separated balanced gain and loss elements. With a dynamically tunable LC oscillator with synthetically constructed circuit elements, we demonstrate static and</p> <p>Floquet PT breaking transitions by tracking the energy of the circuit. Distinct from traditional mechanisms to implement gain and loss, our protocol enables parity-time symmetry in a minimal classical system.</p>

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(情報学) / 甲第22583号 / 情博第720号 / 新制||情||123(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院情報学研究科数理工学専攻 / (主査)教授 中村 佳正, 教授 矢ヶ崎 一幸, 准教授 辻本 諭 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Informatics / Kyoto University / DFAM

The impact parameter (IP) approximation is a semiclassical model in quantum scattering theory wherein N large masses interact with one small mass. We study this model in one spatial dimension using the tools of time-dependent scattering theory, considering a system of two large-mass particles and one small-mass particle. We demonstrate that the model's predictive power becomes arbitrarily good as the masses of the two heavy particles are made larger by studying the S-matrix for a particular scattering channel. We also show that the IP wave functions can be made arbitrarily close to the full three-body solution, uniformly in time, provided one of the large masses is fixed in place, and that such a result probably will not hold if we allow all the masses to move. / Ph. D.

We study the unique phenomena which occur in certain systems characterized by the crossing or avoided crossing of two electronic eigenvalues. First, an example problem will be investigated for a given Hamiltonian resulting in a codimension 1 crossing by implementing results by Hagedorn from 1994. Then we perturb the Hamiltonian to study the system for the corresponding avoided crossing by implementing results by Hagedorn and Joye from 1998. The results from these demonstrate the behavior which occurs at a codimension 1 crossing and avoided crossing and illustrates the differences. These solutions may also be used in further studies with Herman-Kluk propagation and more. Secondly, we study codimension 2 crossings by considering a more general type of wave packet. We focus on the case of Schrödinger equation but our methods are general enough to be adapted to other systems with the geometric conditions therein. The motivation comes from the construction of surface hopping algorithms giving an approximation of the solution of a system of Schrödinger equations coupled by a potential admitting a conical intersection, in the spirit of Herman-Kluk approximation (in close relation with frozen/thawed approximations). Our main Theorem gives explicit transition formulas for the profiles when passing through a conical crossing point, including precise computation of the transformation of the phase and its proof is based on a normal form approach. / Doctor of Philosophy / We study energies of molecular systems in which special circumstances occur. In particular, when these energies intersect, or come close to intersecting. These phenomena give rise to unique physics which allows special reactions to occur and are thus of interest to study. We study one example of a more specific type of energy level crossing and avoided crossing, and then consider another type of crossing in a more general setting. We find solutions for these systems to draw our results from.