Solution of the quantum initial value problem with transparent boundary conditions

Many systems of interest at the forefront of technological development, for example, in quantum computation, consist of weakly interacting elements that obey quantum mechanics. A challenge for modern theoretical physics is to develop a systematic methodology for approaching these “open” quantum systems. In particular, applied mathematicians have formulated the method of transparent boundary conditions (TBCs) to model interacting quantum systems of infinite extent. Here, we consider a particular application of TBCs to the escape of a particle from a one-dimensional infinite well when one of the bounding barriers is extinguished. We analytically obtain the exact time-dependent wave function by a Green's function method and then show that a numerical solution based on the TBC method is in excellent agreement. This work was motivated by an experiment carried out at the University of Texas on escape from a gravitational wedge billiard. Physicists have used billiards to understand and explore both classical and quantum chaos. Although the original experiment was carried out in the classical regime, current work is probing lower temperatures, where a quantum mechanical formulation is required.