You could derive the spontaneous emission rate (Equation 11.63) without the detour through Einstein’s A and B coefficients if you knew the ground state energy density of the electromagnetic field P0(ω)for then it would simply be a case of stimulated emission (Equation 11.54). To do this honestly would require quantum electrodynamics, but if you are prepared to believe that the ground state consists of one photon in each classical mode, then the derivation is very simple:

(a) Replace Equation 5.111by localid="1658381580036" N0=dkand deduce P0(ω) (Presumably this formula breaks down at high frequency, else the total "vacuum energy" would be infinite ... but that's a story for a different day.)

(b) Use your result, together with Equation 9.47, to obtain the spontaneous emission rate. Compare Equation 9.56.

Short Answer

Expert verified

P0ω=ħπ2C3Rba=ω3H23πo0ħc3

Step by step solution

01

The spontaneous emission rate

The transition rate for stimulated emission is given by:

Rab=πH23ο0ħ2pω0 ……….. (1)

Where, H is the dipole moment averaged between the two states a and bwhich is given by:

Hqarb

If the stimulating radiation occurs due to the thermal processes, we can write Pω0 as:

Pω0=1ehω0IKaT-1ħω03π2C3 …….. (2)

02

Find out the expression

(a)

But for the zero-point field this formula doesn't hold, so we need another formula. Assume that the number of photons per available state is 1, then the number of states in the shell from wave number k to k+dk is:

dx=k2vπ2dk

Using k=w/c , so we get:

dk=ω2Vπ2c2dω

Here, V is the volume of the box in which we put the photon, then the number of photons is:

Nω=Dk=ω2Vπ2C2dω

Instead of:

Nω=dkeħωBT-1

So simply remove the factor eħωIkaT-1 in the denominator of equation (2), so we get:

P0ω=ħω3π2C3

03

Substitute the equation

(b)

Substitute into (1) with P0ωso we get:

Rbaπ3o0h2H2ђω3π2c3Rba=ω3H23πo0ħc3

Hence, the solutions are,

(a) P0ω=hω2π2c3

(b) Rba=ω3H23πo0hc3

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Most popular questions from this chapter

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

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 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?


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).

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.

ca=-ihHabeigtcb,cb=-ihHbaeigtca …(9.13).

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