Time dependent quantum harmonic oscillator subject to a sudden change of mass: continuous solution

Abstract

We show that a harmonic oscillator subject to a sudden change of mass produces squeezed states. Our study is based on an approximate analytic solution to the time-dependent harmonic oscillator equation with a subperiod function parameter. This continuous treatment differs from former studies that involve the matching of two time-independent solutions at the discontinuity. This formalism requires an ad hoc transformation of the original differential equation and is also applicable for rapid, although not necessarily instantaneous, mass variations.