The effect of linear terms in a quadratic Hamiltonian

Mark Andrews

Published 2009-06-19Version 1

For a non-relativistic particle subject to a Hamiltonian that is quadratic in position and momentum, with coefficients that may vary with time, it is shown that the effect of the linear terms in the Hamiltonian is just a spatial translation of the wave function and a change in its phase. The shifts in position and phase can be expressed in terms of classical trajectories. This simple effect of the linear terms is related to the fact that all moments about the centroid of the wave function evolve independently of the linear terms.