Extending the Flux Operator with Coherent State Projections

Douglas Mason, Harvard University

Photo of Douglas Mason

A common tool among physics in the transport community is the probability flux operator, but connecting this operator to measurement has not received much attention. We have extended the definition of flux by using coherent state projections, rendering it both measurable and infinitely more useful. For instance, we can use our extended definition to study closed systems and the classical dynamics of individual quantum states, and then connect these dynamics to resonant states interacting with an environment. This analytical technique, based on semi-classics, brings new tools to bear on wavefunction analysis and visualization.

Abstract Author(s): Douglas J. Mason, Eric J. Heller