Sampling strategies for the Herman–Kluk propagator of the wavefunction

When the semiclassical Herman–Kluk propagator is used for evaluating quantum-mechanical observables or time-correlation functions, the initial conditions for the guiding trajectories are typically sampled from the Husimi density. Here, we employ this propagator to evolve the wavefunction itself. We...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Fabian Kröninger, Caroline Lasser, Jiří J. L. Vaníček
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2023-03-01
Series:Frontiers in Physics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphy.2023.1106324/full
Description
Summary:When the semiclassical Herman–Kluk propagator is used for evaluating quantum-mechanical observables or time-correlation functions, the initial conditions for the guiding trajectories are typically sampled from the Husimi density. Here, we employ this propagator to evolve the wavefunction itself. We investigate two grid-free strategies for the initial sampling of the Herman–Kluk propagator applied to the wavefunction and validate the resulting time-dependent wavefunctions evolved in harmonic and anharmonic potentials. In particular, we consider Monte Carlo quadratures based either on the initial Husimi density or on its square root as possible and most natural sampling densities. We prove analytical convergence error estimates and validate them with numerical experiments on the harmonic oscillator and on a series of Morse potentials with increasing anharmonicity. In all cases, sampling from the square root of Husimi density leads to faster convergence of the wavefunction.
ISSN:2296-424X