60 research outputs found
Semiclassical Approximations in Phase Space with Coherent States
We present a complete derivation of the semiclassical limit of the coherent
state propagator in one dimension, starting from path integrals in phase space.
We show that the arbitrariness in the path integral representation, which
follows from the overcompleteness of the coherent states, results in many
different semiclassical limits. We explicitly derive two possible semiclassical
formulae for the propagator, we suggest a third one, and we discuss their
relationships. We also derive an initial value representation for the
semiclassical propagator, based on an initial gaussian wavepacket. It turns out
to be related to, but different from, Heller's thawed gaussian approximation.
It is very different from the Herman--Kluk formula, which is not a correct
semiclassical limit. We point out errors in two derivations of the latter.
Finally we show how the semiclassical coherent state propagators lead to
WKB-type quantization rules and to approximations for the Husimi distributions
of stationary states.Comment: 80 pages, 4 figure
Excitation of weakly bound Rydberg electrons by half-cycle pulses
The interaction of a weakly bound Rydberg electron with an electromagnetic
half-cycle pulse (HCP) is described with the help of a multidimensional
semiclassical treatment. This approach relates the quantum evolution of the
electron to its underlying classical dynamics. The method is nonperturbative
and is valid for arbitrary spatial and temporal shapes of the applied HCP. On
the basis of this approach angle- and energy-resolved spectra resulting from
the ionization of Rydberg atoms by HCPs are analyzed. The different types of
spectra obtainable in the sudden-impact approximation are characterized in
terms of the appearing semiclassical scattering phenomena. Typical
modifications of the spectra originating from finite pulse effects are
discussed.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev.
A dynamic hurdle model for zero-inflated count data: with an application to health care utilization
Excess zeros are encountered in many empirical count data applications. We provide a new explanation of extra zeros, related to the underlying stochastic process that generates events. The process has two rates, a lower rate until the first event, and a higher one thereafter. We derive the corresponding distribution of the number of events during a fixed period and extend it to account for observed and unobserved heterogeneity. An application to the socio-economic determinants of the individual number of doctor visits in Germany illustrates the usefulness of the new approach
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