Brownian Motion of a Quantum Oscillator

An action principle technique for the direct computation of expectation values is described and illustrated in detail by a special physical example, the effect on an oscillator of another physical system. This simple problem has the advantage of combining immediate physical applicability (e.g., resistive damping or maser amplification of a single electromagnetic cavity mode) with a significant idealization of the complex problems encountered in many-particle and relativistic field theory. Successive sections contain discussions of the oscillator subjected to external forces, the oscillator loosely coupled to the external system, an improved treatment of this problem and, finally, there is a brief account of a general formulation.