https://doi.org/10.1007/s100530050142
WKB for a damped spin
1
Department of Theoretical Physics, Institute of
Physics, Saint-Petersburg University,
Saint-Petersburg, 198904 Russia
2
Fachbereich Physik, Universität-Gesamthochschule Essen,
45117 Essen, Germany
Corresponding author: a daniel@indy1.theo-phys.uni-essen.de
Received:
16
February
1998
Revised:
20
April
1998
Accepted:
20
April
1998
Published online: 15 July 1998
The master equation for a damped spin well known from the theory of superradiance, is written as a finite-difference equation and solved by a WKB-like method. The propagator thus obtained looks like the van Vleck propagator of a certain classical Hamiltonian system with one degree of freedom. A new interpretation is provided of the temporal broadening of initially sharp probability distributions as the analogue of the spreading of the quantum mechanical wave packet.
PACS: 42.50.Fx – Cooperative phenomena; superradiance and superfluorescence / 03.65.Sq – Semiclassical theories and applications
© EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag, 1998
