Displacement operator: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Mathematical operator in quantum optics}}

In the [[quantum mechanics]] study of [[optical phase space]], the '''displacement operator''' for one mode is the [[shift operator]] in [[quantum optics]],

:<math>\hat{D}(\alpha)=\exp \left ( \alpha \hat{a}^\dagger - \alpha^\ast \hat{a} \right ) </math>,

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The name of this operator is derived from its ability to displace a localized state in phase space by a magnitude <math>\alpha</math>. It may also act on the vacuum state by displacing it into a [[coherent state]]. Specifically,

<math>\hat{D}(\alpha)|0\rangle=|\alpha\rangle</math> where <math>|\alpha\rangle</math> is a [[coherent state]], which is an [[eigenstate]] of the annihilation (lowering) operator. This operator was introduced independently by [[Richard Feynman]] and [[Roy J. Glauber]] in 1951.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dodonov |first=V. V. |date=2002 |title='Nonclassical' states in quantum optics: a 'squeezed' review of the first 75 years |url=https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1464-4266/4/1/201 |journal=Journal of Optics B: Quantum and Semiclassical Optics |volume=4 |issue=1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Feynman |first=Richard P. |date=1951-10-01 |title=An Operator Calculus Having Applications in Quantum Electrodynamics |url=https://journals.aps.org/pr/abstract/10.1103/PhysRev.84.108 |journal=Physical Review |volume=84 |issue=1 |pages=108–128 |doi=10.1103/PhysRev.84.108|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Glauber |first=Roy J. |date=1951-11-01 |title=Some Notes on Multiple-Boson Processes |url=https://journals.aps.org/pr/abstract/10.1103/PhysRev.84.395 |journal=Physical Review |volume=84 |issue=3 |pages=395–400 |doi=10.1103/PhysRev.84.395|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

<math>\hat{D}(\alpha)|0\rangle=|\alpha\rangle</math> where <math>|\alpha\rangle</math> is a [[coherent state]], which is an [[eigenstate]] of the annihilation (lowering) operator.

== Properties ==

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== Alternative expressions ==

The Kermack-McCraeKermack–McCrea identity (named after [[William Ogilvy Kermack]] and [[William McCrea (astronomer)|William McCrea]]) gives two alternative ways to express the displacement operator:

:<math>\hat{D}(\alpha) = e^{ -\frac{1}{2} | \alpha |^2 } e^{+\alpha \hat{a}^{\dagger}} e^{-\alpha^{*} \hat{a} } </math>