Detailed Complementary Consistency: Wave Function Tells Particle How to Hop, Particle Tells Wave Function How to Collapse

In mixed quantum-classical dynamics, the quantum subsystem can have both wave function and particle-like descriptions. However, they may yield inconsistent results for the expectation value of the same physical quantity. We here propose a novel detailed complementary consistency (DCC) method based on the principle of detailed internal consistency. Namely, wave function along each trajectory tells particle how to hop, while particle tells wave function how to collapse based on active states in the trajectory ensemble. As benchmarked in a diverse array of representative models, DCC not only achieves fully consistent results (i.e., identical populations calculated based on wave functions and active states), but also closely reproduces the exact quantum results. Due to the high performance, our new DCC method is promising for a consistent and accurate mixed quantum-classical description of general nonadiabatic dynamics.