11 June, 2026

Notes

2026-10-30

On implementation of Hénon-Heiles

These are two screen shots of the Hénon-Heiles potential

Left: a 3D and right a contour plot of the Hénon-Heiles potential.

Parameters

Parameter Value Units Description
\(\alpha\) 2.0 — Non-linear coupling strength
\(m\) 1.0 kg Mass
\(\omega\) 1.0 1/s Harmonic oscillator frequency

Lost Wonderers Thoughts:

I spend an hour raading “Postmoden Quantummechanics” [@heller1993postmodern].

Semiclassical approximation of quantum amplitudes have a universal form and is given by \[\psi(x)=\sum_n \sqrt{P_n(x)} \,\exp\Big\{i \varphi_n(x)/\hbar\Big\},\] with

  • \(\varphi_n(x)\) – classical action along the \(n^\text{th}\) path reaching \(x\)

  • \(P_n(x)\) – classical probability

Lines I considered interesting. What is it that makes the theory break down exactly?