Bootstrapping time-evolution in quantum mechanics

Abstract: We present a method for obtaining a hierarchy of rigorous bounds on the time-evolution of a quantum mechanical system from an arbitrary initial state, systematically generalizing Mandelstam-Tamm-like relations. For any fixed level in the hierarchy, the bounds are tightest after short time-evolution and gradually loosen over time; we present evidence that for any fixed amount of time-evolution, the bounds can be made arbitrarily tight by moving up in the hierarchy. The computational effort to obtain the bounds scales polynomially with the number of degrees of freedom in the system being simulated. We demonstrate the method on both a single anharmonic oscillator and a system of two coupled anharmonic oscillators.