Coherent quantum dynamics: What fluctuations can tell

Coherent states provide a natural connection of quantum systems to their classical limit and are employed in various fields of physics. Here we derive general systematic expansions, with respect to quantum parameters, of expectation values of products of arbitrary operators within both oscillator coherent states and SU(2) coherent states. In particular, we generally prove that the energy fluctuations of an arbitrary Hamiltonian are in leading order entirely due to the time dependence of the classical variables. These results add to the list of well-known properties of coherent states and are applied here to the Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick model, the Dicke model, and to coherent intertwiners in spin networks as considered in loop quantum gravity