DISSIPATIVE AND FLUCTUATION PHENOMENA IN QUANTUM MECHANICS WITH APPLICATIONS

摘要

Classical dissipative and fluctuation phenomena have a long history beginning with the experimental work on Brownian motion in 1827 and its theoretical explanation by Einstein in 1905, followed by Langevin's elegant explanation in 1908 when he introduced the idea of a stochastic differential equation. While we briefly review this history, our emphasis is on stochastic phenomena requiring quantum mechanics. We discuss many problems in a variety of areas and point out the merits of a quantum generalized Langevin equation in providing a universal framework for the solution of such problems. As an example, we analyze in detail the problem of radiation reaction in quantum electrodynamics. (C) 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [References: 79]