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We present a complete derivation of the semiclassical limit of the coherent state propagator in one dimension, starting from path integrals in phase space. We show that the arbitrariness in the path integral representation, which follows from the overcompleteness of the coherent states, results in many different semiclassical limits. We explicitly derive two possible semiclassical formulae for the propagator, we suggest a third one, and we discuss their relationships. We also derive an initial value representation for the semiclassical propagator, based on an initial gaussian wavepacket. It turns out to be related to, but different from, Heller's thawed gaussian approximation. It is very different from the Herman - Kluk formula, which is not a correct semiclassical limit. We point out errors in two derivations of the latter. Finally we show how the semiclassical coherent state propagators lead to WKB-type quantization rules and to approximations for the Husimi distributions of stationary states.
In this work, we discuss the resonance states of a quantum particle in a periodic potential plus static force. Originally this problem was formulated for a crystalline electron subject to the static electric field and is known nowadays as the Wannier-Stark problem. We describe a novel approach to the Wannier-Stark problem developed in recent years. This approach allows to compute the complex energy spectrum of a Wannier-Stark system as the poles of a rigorously constructed scattering matrix and, in this sense, solves the Wannier-Stark problem without any approximation. The suggested method is very efficient from the numerical point of view and has proven to be a powerful analytic tool for Wannier-Stark resonances appearing in different physical systems like optical or semiconductor superlattices.