Exact Evolution Operator on Non-compact Group Manifolds

Free quantal motion on group manifolds is considered. The Hamiltonian is given by the Laplace -- Beltrami operator on the group manifold, and the purpose is to get the (Feynman's) evolution kernel. The spectral expansion, which produced a series of the representation characters for the evolution kernel in the compact case, does not exist for non-compact group, where the spectrum is not bounded. In this work real analytical groups are investigated, some of which are of interest for physics. An integral representation for the evolution operator is obtained in terms of the Green function, i.e. the solution to the Helmholz equation on the group manifold. The alternative series expressions for the evolution operator are reconstructed from the same integral representation, the spectral expansion (when exists) and the sum over classical paths. For non-compact groups, the latter can be interpreted as the (exact) semi-classical approximation, like in the compact case. The explicit form of the evolution operator is obtained for a number of non-compact groups.Comment: 32 pages, 5 postscript figures, LaTe

Attosecond double-slit experiment

A new scheme for a double-slit experiment in the time domain is presented. Phase-stabilized few-cycle laser pulses open one to two windows (``slits'') of attosecond duration for photoionization. Fringes in the angle-resolved energy spectrum of varying visibility depending on the degree of which-way information are observed. A situation in which one and the same electron encounters a single and a double slit at the same time is discussed. The investigation of the fringes makes possible interferometry on the attosecond time scale. The number of visible fringes, for example, indicates that the slits are extended over about 500as.Comment: 4 figure