Propagation of General Wave Packets in Some
Classical and Quantum Systems
LIN Qiong-Gui
【期刊名称】《《理论物理通讯（英文版）》》 【年(卷),期】2006(045)005
【摘要】In quantum mechanics the center of a wave packet is precisely defined as the center of probability. The center-of-probability velocity describes the entire motion of the wave packet. In classical physics there is no precise counterpart to the center-of-probability velocity of quantum mechanics, in spite of the fact that there exist in the literature at least eight different velocities for the electromagnetic wave. We propose a center-of-energy velocity to describe the entire motion of general wave packets in classical physical systems. It is a measurable quantity, and is well defined for both continuous and discrete systems. For electromagnetic wave packets it is a generalization of the velocity of energy transport. General wave packets in several classical systems are studied and the center-of-energy velocity is calculated and expressed in terms of the dispersion relation and the Fourier coefficients. These systems include string subject to an external force, monatomic chain and diatomic chain in one dimension, and classical Heisenberg model in one dimension. In most cases the center-of-energy velocity reduces to the group velocity for quasi-monochromatic wave packets. Thus it also
Propagation of General Wave Packets in Some Classical and Quantum Systems
