Craig C. Martens of the University of California-Irvine is supported by an award from the Theoretical and Computational Chemistry program for research to develop theoretical and computational methodology for the investigation of coherent quantum mechanical processes in many-body systems. The research is taking a mixed classical-quantum approach to generalizing classical molecular dynamics for systems with multiple quantum states and is based on a semiclassical approximation to the multistate quantum mechanical Liouville equation in the Wigner representation. Martens is applying these methods to several applications including the study of electronic excitations using shaped ultrafast pulses, an investigation of the semiclassical dynamics of quantum coherence from a dynamical systems perspective, and a study of the creation of possible quantum coherences from classical system bath modes. The work is having a broader impact through the training of students in modern theoretical and computational methods.
