Quantum hysteresis loops in coupled two-dimensional microscopic systems: loop area and energy dissipation

Abstract

A recipe is proposed for calculating the area enclosed by hysteresis-like loops in a periodically forced bistable microscopic system at zero temperature by using the time-dependent Hellmann-Feynman theorem and the Fourier grid Hamiltonian method for solving the time-dependent Schrodinger equation. The method is applied to the dynamics of a particle moving in a two-dimensional system involving coupled Morse and symmetric double-well potentials and interacting with an external time periodic field. The dependence of the computed loop area on the coupling strength and characteristics of the external field are analyzed, throwing light on energy transfer to the mode not directly coupled to the external field.