Calculate the lifetime (in seconds) for each of the four n = 2 states of hydrogen. Hint: You’ll need to evaluate matrix elements of the form <ψ100xψ200>,<ψ100yψ211>, and so on. Remember that role="math" localid="1658303993600" x=rsinθcosϕ,y=rsinθsinϕandz=rcosθ. Most of these integrals are zero, so inspect them closely before you start calculating. Answer: 1.60×10-9seconds for all except role="math" localid="1658304185040" ψ200, which is infinite.

Short Answer

Expert verified

The life time for each of the four n=2 states of hydrogen isτ=1A=1.60×10-9s

Step by step solution

01

Step 1: states of hydrogen

At standard conditions of hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula H2. It is colourless, tasteless, nontoxic, and highly combustible. Hydrogen is the most abundant chemical substance in the universe, constituting roughly 75% of all normal matter

02

Step 2: Calculating the life time for each of the four n=2 states of hydrogen

In Problem 9.1 we calculated the matrix elements of z; all of them are zero except 100z210=28352a.

As for x and y, we noted that

100>,200and210>areeven(inx,y),whereas21+1>is odd. So the only non-zero matrix elements are 100x21+1and100y21+1 Using the wave functions in Problem 9.1:

100x21+1=1πa3+18πa1ae-r/are-r/2asinθe+iϕrsinθcosϕr2sinθdrdθdϕ=+18πa40r4e-3r/2adr0πsin3θdθ02πcosϕ+isinϕcosϕdϕ=+18πa44!2a3543π=+2735a

100y21+1=+18πa44!2a354302πcosϕ+isinϕsinϕdϕ=+18πa44!2a3543+iπ=-i2735a100r200=0;100r21027235ak^;100r21+1=2735a+i^-ij^,and21+1>100>)

Meanwhile, ω=E2-E1ħ=1ħE14-E1=-3E14ħ so for the three l = 1 states:

A=-33E1326ħ3ea221531013πo˙0ħc3=-2938πE13e2a2o˙0ħ4c3=21038E1mc22ca=2103813.60.511×1063.00×1080.529×10-10m=6.27×108/s;τ=1A=1.60×10-9s

Thus life time for each of the four n=2 states of hydrogen is τ=1A=1.60×10-9s

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Most popular questions from this chapter

A particle of mass m is initially in the ground state of the (one-dimensional) infinite square well. At time t = 0 a “brick” is dropped into the well, so that the potential becomes

V(x)={V0,0xa/20,a/2<xa;,otherwise

where V0E1After a time T, the brick is removed, and the energy of the particle is measured. Find the probability (in first-order perturbation theory) that the result is nowE2 .

The half-life of (t1/2)an excited state is the time it would take for half the atoms in a large sample to make a transition. Find the relation betweenrole="math" localid="1658300900358" t1/2andT(the “life time” of the state).

Calculate ca(t)andcb(t), to second order, for a time-independent perturbation in Problem 9.2. Compare your answer with the exact result.

The first term in Equation 9.25 comes from the eiωt/2, and the second from e-iωt/2.. Thus dropping the first term is formally equivalent to writing H^=(V/2)e-iωt, which is to say,

cbl-ihvba0tcos(ωt')eiω0t'dt'=-iVba2h0tej(ω0+ω)t'+ej(ω0-ω)t'dt'=--iVba2hej(ω0+ω)t'-1ω0+ω+ej(ω0-ω)t'-1ω0-ω(9.25).Hba'=Vba2e-iωt,Hab'=Vab2eiωt(9.29).

(The latter is required to make the Hamiltonian matrix hermitian—or, if you prefer, to pick out the dominant term in the formula analogous to Equation 9.25 forca(t). ) Rabi noticed that if you make this so-called rotating wave approximation at the beginning of the calculation, Equation 9.13 can be solved exactly, with no need for perturbation theory, and no assumption about the strength of the field.

c.a=-ihHab'e-iω0tcb,c.b=-ihHba'e-iω0tca,

(a) Solve Equation 9.13 in the rotating wave approximation (Equation 9.29), for the usual initial conditions: ca(0)=1,cb(0)=0. Express your results (ca(t)andcb(t))in terms of the Rabi flopping frequency,

ωr=12(ω-ω0)2+(Vab/h)2 (9.30).

(b) Determine the transition probability,Pab(t), and show that it never exceeds 1. Confirm that.

ca(t)2+cb(t)2=1.

(c) Check that Pab(t)reduces to the perturbation theory result (Equation 9.28) when the perturbation is “small,” and state precisely what small means in this context, as a constraint on V.

Pab(t)=cb(t)2Vab2hsin2ω0-ωt/2ω0-ω2(9.28)

(d) At what time does the system first return to its initial state?


Suppose you don’t assume Haa=Hbb=0

(a) Find ca(t)and cb(t) in first-order perturbation theory, for the case

.show that , to first order in .

(b) There is a nicer way to handle this problem. Let

.

Show that

where

So the equations for are identical in structure to Equation 11.17 (with an extra

(c) Use the method in part (b) to obtain in first-order
perturbation theory, and compare your answer to (a). Comment on any discrepancies.

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