Semiclassical Analysis of Wave Dynamics via Wigner Transforms: Applications to the Quantum Harmonic, Anharmonic, and Dirac Oscillator
Abstract
In this Master's thesis, we give a pedagogical introduction to the semiclassical analysis of wave dynamics in single-band and multi-band systems. We show how the semiclassical evolutions of Wigner functions can approximate the dynamics of wave packet centers and wave packet deformations. Three systems of increasing complexity are considered: the quantum harmonic oscillator and the quantum anharmonic oscillator as single-band systems, and the Dirac oscillator as a two-band system. We explain the origins of the first-order semiclassical corrections (Moyal, Littlejohn-Flynn, and Berry) in the equations of motion and examine their effects on predictive accuracy. Another focus is set on the conditions for validity of the semiclassical analysis. For both the quantum anharmonic and the Dirac oscillators, a dimensionless parameter controlling the accuracy of the approximation is identified. In multi-band systems, the formalism applies only to states within a single adiabatic subspace, which, for the Dirac oscillator, corresponds to an energy branch. This motivates the construction of single-branch almost coherent states: approximately Gaussian wave packets formed by superpositions of states from a single energy branch. Their centers undergo oscillations with an aperiodic envelope. These states enable comparison between semiclassical Wigner function evolution and the commonly used Sundaram-Niu formalism. We show that semiclassical Wigner function evolution captures deformation-related dynamics, including the initial decay of oscillations, which the Sundaram-Niu formalism cannot describe by construction. Additionally, exact quantum evolution reveals partial relocalization of these single-branch almost coherent states, a phenomenon that cannot be captured by the semiclassical evolution.
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BibTeX
@misc{burg2026semiclassical,
title = {{Semiclassical Analysis of Wave Dynamics via Wigner Transforms: Applications to the Quantum Harmonic, Anharmonic, and Dirac Oscillator}},
author = {August Burg},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.22414},
eprint = {2610.22414},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.22414},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Semiclassical Analysis of Wave Dynamics via Wigner Transforms: Applications to the Quantum Harmonic, Anharmonic, and Dirac Oscillator
AU - August Burg
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/14
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.22414
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.22414
AB - In this Master's thesis, we give a pedagogical introduction to the semiclassical analysis of wave dynamics in single-band and multi-band systems. We show how the semiclassical evolutions of Wigner functions can approximate the dynamics of wave packet centers and wave packet deformations. Three systems of increasing complexity are considered: the quantum harmonic oscillator and the quantum anharmonic oscillator as single-band systems, and the Dirac oscillator as a two-band system. We explain the origins of the first-order semiclassical corrections (Moyal, Littlejohn-Flynn, and Berry) in the equations of motion and examine their effects on predictive accuracy. Another focus is set on the conditions for validity of the semiclassical analysis. For both the quantum anharmonic and the Dirac oscillators, a dimensionless parameter controlling the accuracy of the approximation is identified. In multi-band systems, the formalism applies only to states within a single adiabatic subspace, which, for the Dirac oscillator, corresponds to an energy branch. This motivates the construction of single-branch almost coherent states: approximately Gaussian wave packets formed by superpositions of states from a single energy branch. Their centers undergo oscillations with an aperiodic envelope. These states enable comparison between semiclassical Wigner function evolution and the commonly used Sundaram-Niu formalism. We show that semiclassical Wigner function evolution captures deformation-related dynamics, including the initial decay of oscillations, which the Sundaram-Niu formalism cannot describe by construction. Additionally, exact quantum evolution reveals partial relocalization of these single-branch almost coherent states, a phenomenon that cannot be captured by the semiclassical evolution.
ER -