Chapter 9: Q5P (page 345)
Solve Equation 9.13 to second order in perturbation theory, for the general case
(9.13).
Short Answer
The second order perturbation theory for the equation is
Chapter 9: Q5P (page 345)
Solve Equation 9.13 to second order in perturbation theory, for the general case
(9.13).
The second order perturbation theory for the equation is
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Get started for freeThe half-life of 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" (the “life time” of the state).
Solve Equation 9.13 for the case of a time-independent perturbation, assumingthatandcheck that
. Comment: Ostensibly, this system oscillates between “” Doesn’t this contradict my general assertion that no transitions occur for time-independent perturbations? No, but the reason is rather subtle: In this are not, and never were, Eigen states of the Hamiltonian—a measurement of the energy never yields. In time-dependent perturbation theory we typically contemplate turning on the perturbation for a while, and then turning it off again, in order to examine the system. At the beginning, and at the end,are Eigen states of the exact Hamiltonian, and only in this context does it make sense to say that the system underwent a transition from one to the other. For the present problem, then, assume that the perturbation was turned on at time t = 0, and off again at time T —this doesn’t affect the calculations, but it allows for a more sensible interpretation of the result.
…(9.13).
The first term in Equation 9.25 comes from the , and the second from . Thus dropping the first term is formally equivalent to writing , which is to say,
(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 for. ) 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.
(a) Solve Equation 9.13 in the rotating wave approximation (Equation 9.29), for the usual initial conditions: . Express your results in terms of the Rabi flopping frequency,
(9.30).
(b) Determine the transition probability,, and show that it never exceeds 1. Confirm that.
(c) Check that 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.
(d) At what time does the system first return to its initial state?
We have encountered stimulated emission, (stimulated) absorption, and spontaneous emission. How come there is no such thing as spontaneous absorption?
Develop time-dependent perturbation theory for a multi-level system, starting with the generalization of Equations 9.1 and 9.2:
(9.79)
At time t = 0 we turn on a perturbation so that the total Hamiltonian is
(9.80).
(a) Generalize Equation 9.6 to read
(9.81).
and show that
(9.82).
Where
(9.83).
(b) If the system starts out in the state , show that (in first-order perturbation theory)
(9.84).
and
(9.85).
(c) For example, supposeis constant (except that it was turned on at t = 0 , and switched off again at some later time . Find the probability of transition from state N to state M as a function of T. Answer:
(9.86).
(d) Now supposeis a sinusoidal function of time: Making the usual assumptions, show that transitions occur only to states with energy , and the transition probability is
(9.87).
(e) Suppose a multi-level system is immersed in incoherent electromagnetic radiation. Using Section 9.2.3 as a guide, show that the transition rate for stimulated emission is given by the same formula (Equation 9.47) as for a two-level system.
(9.47).
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