1302.0754 (Thomas E. Skinner)

An exact mapping between the states of arbitrary N-level quantum systems
and the positions of classical coupled oscillators    [PDF]

Thomas E. Skinner

The dynamics of states representing arbitrary N-level quantum systems, including dissipative systems, can be modeled exactly by the dynamics of coupled classical oscillators. There exists a simple direct correspondence between the quantum states and the positions of the oscillators. Quantum coherence, expectation values, and measurement probabilities for system observables can therefore be obtained from the corresponding classical states. Values for the classical coupling constants are readily obtained from the system Hamiltonian, allowing construction of classical mechanical systems that can provide visual insight into the dynamics of abstract quantum systems as well as a metric for characterizing the interface between quantum and classical mechanics.

View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1302.0754