Quantum dynamics simulation of a small quantum system embedded in a classical environment

The authors wish to consider quantum-dynamical processes that are not restricted to motion on a ground state Born-Oppenheimer surface, but may involve transitions between states. The authors interest is in such processes occurring in a complex environment that modulates the quantum process and interacts with it. In a system containing thousands degrees of freedom, the essential quantum behaviour is generally restricted to a small subsystem containing only a few degrees of freedom, while the environment can be treated classically. The challenge is threefold: 1) to treat the quantum subsystem correctly in a quantum-dynamical sense, 2) to treat the environment correctly in a classical dynamical sense, 3) to couple both systems in such a way that errors in the average or long-term behaviour are minimized. After an exposition of the theory, an insight into quantum-dynamical behaviour by using pictorial analogue, valid for a simple two-level system is given. Then, the authors give a short survey of applications related to collision processes involving quantum levels of one particle, and to proton transfer processes along hydrogen bonds in complex environments. Finally, they conclude with some general remarks on the validity of their approach. (N.T.)