Phy5646: Difference between revisions
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\end{array}\right)\otimes\overrightarrow{J_{2}}\Rightarrow|j_{1} m_{1}\rangle \otimes |j_{2} m_{2}\rangle=|j_{1} m_{1} j_{2} m_{2}\rangle</math> | \end{array}\right)\otimes\overrightarrow{J_{2}}\Rightarrow|j_{1} m_{1}\rangle \otimes |j_{2} m_{2}\rangle=|j_{1} m_{1} j_{2} m_{2}\rangle</math> | ||
where Hilbert space size is <math>(2j_1+1)(2j_2+1)</math>. | where Hilbert space size is <math>\!(2j_1+1)(2j_2+1)</math>. | ||
We have the following commutation relations: | We have the following commutation relations: |
Revision as of 22:27, 10 April 2009
Welcome to the Quantum Mechanics B PHY5646 Spring 2009

This is the second semester of a two-semester graduate level sequence, the first being PHY5645 Quantum A. Its goal is to explain the concepts and mathematical methods of Quantum Mechanics, and to prepare a student to solve quantum mechanics problems arising in different physical applications. The emphasis of the courses is equally on conceptual grasp of the subject as well as on problem solving. This sequence of courses builds the foundation for more advanced courses and graduate research in experimental or theoretical physics.
The key component of the course is the collaborative student contribution to the course Wiki-textbook. Each team of students (see Phy5646 wiki-groups) is responsible for BOTH writing the assigned chapter AND editing chapters of others.
This course's website can be found here.
Outline of the course:
Stationary state perturbation theory in Quantum Mechanics
Very often, quantum mechanical problems cannot be solved exactly. We have seen last semester that an approximate technique can be very useful since it gives us quantitative insight into a larger class of problems which do not admit exact solutions. The technique we used last semester was WKB, which holds in the asymptotic limit Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \hbar\rightarrow 0 } .
Perturbation theory is another very useful technique, which is also approximate, and attempts to find corrections to exact solutions in powers of the terms in the Hamiltonian which render the problem insoluble.
Typically, the (Hamiltonian) problem has the following structure
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathcal{H}=\mathcal{H}_0+\mathcal{H}'}
where Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathcal{H}_0} is exactly soluble and Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathcal{H}'} makes it insoluble.
Raleigh-Shrödinger Peturbation Theory
We begin with an unperturbed problem, whose solution is known exactly. That is, for the unperturbed Hamiltonian, Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathcal{H}_0} , we have eigenstates, Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle |n\rangle } , and eigenenergies, Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \epsilon_n } , that are known solutions to the Schrodinger eq:
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathcal{H}_0 |n\rangle = \epsilon_n |n\rangle }
To find the sulution to the perturbed hamiltonian, Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathcal{H}}
, we first consider an auxiliary problem, parameterized by Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \lambda}
:
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathcal{H} = \mathcal{H}_0 + \lambda \mathcal{H}^'}
If we attempt to find eigenstates Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle |N(\lambda)\rangle} and eigenvalues Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle E_n} of the Hermitian operator Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathcal{H}} , and assume that they can be expanded in a power series of Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \lambda} :
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle E_n(\lambda) = E_n^{(0)} + \lambda E_n^{(1)} + ... + \lambda^j E_n^{(j)} + ...}
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle |N(\lambda)\rangle = |\Psi_n^{(0)}\rangle + \lambda|\Psi_n^{(1)}\rangle + \lambda^2 |\Psi_n^{(2)}\rangle + ... \lambda^j |\Psi_n^{(j)}\rangle + ...}
then they must obey the equation,
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathcal{H} |N(\lambda)\rangle = E(\lambda) |N(\lambda)\rangle } .
Which upon expansion, becomes:
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle (\mathcal{H}_0 + \lambda \mathcal{H}')\left(\sum_{j=0}^{\infty}\lambda^j |\Psi_n^{(j)}\rangle \right) = \left(\sum_{l=0}^{\infty} \lambda^l E_l\right)\left(\sum_{j=0}^{\infty}\lambda^j |\Psi_n^{(j)}\rangle \right)}
In order for this method to be useful, the perturbed energies must vary continuously with Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \lambda} . Knowing this we can see several things about our, as yet undetermined perturbed energies and eigenstates. For one, as Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \lambda \rightarrow 0, |N(\lambda)\rangle \rightarrow |n\rangle} and Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle E_n^{(0)} = \epsilon_n} for some unperturbed state Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle |n\rangle} .
For convenience, assume that the unperturbed states are already normalized: Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \langle n | n \rangle = 1} , and choose normalization such that the exact states satisfy Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \langle n|N(\lambda)\rangle=1} . Then in general Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle |N\rangle} will not be normalized, and we must normalize it after we have found the states. We have:
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \langle n|N(\lambda)\rangle= 1 = \langle n |\Psi_n^{(0)}\rangle + \lambda \langle n |\Psi_n^{(1)}\rangle + \lambda^2 \langle n |\Psi_n^{(2)}\rangle + ... }
Coefficients of the powers of Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \lambda} must match, so,
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \langle n | N_n^{(i)} \rangle = 0, i = 1, 2, 3, ... }
Which shows that, if we start out with the unperturbed state Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle |n\rangle } , upon perturbation, the original state is added to a set of perturbation states, Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle |\Psi_n^{(0)}\rangle, |\Psi_n^{(1)}\rangle, ... } which are all orthogonal to the original state.
If we equate coefficients in the above expanded form of the perturbed Hamiltonian, we are provided with the corrected eigenvalues for whichever order of Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \lambda} that we want. The first few are as follows,
1st Order Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \lambda = 0 \rightarrow E_n^{(0)} = \epsilon_n } , which we already had from before,
2nd Order Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \lambda = 1 \rightarrow \mathcal{H}_0 |\Psi_n^{(1)}\rangle + \mathcal{H}' |\Psi_n^{(0)}\rangle = E_n^{(1)} |\Psi_n^{(0)}\rangle + E_n^{(0)} |\Psi_n^{(1)}\rangle } , taking the scalar product of this result of Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle |n\langle} , and using our previous results, we get: Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle E_n^{(1)} = \langle n|\mathcal{H}'|n\rangle }
kth order In general, Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle E_n^{(k)} = \langle n | \mathcal{H}' | N_n^{(k - 1)} \rangle }
I have skipped a few steps since they are covered in Baym anyways. This result provides us with a recursive relationship for the Eigenenergies of the perturbed state, so that we have access to the eigenenergies for an state of arbitrary order in Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \lambda} .
What about the eigenstates?
Brillouin-Wigner Peturbation Theory
This is another type of perturbation theory. Using a basic formula derived from the Schroedinger equation, you can find an approximation for any power of Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \lambda } required using an iterative process. Starting with the Schroedinger equation:
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \begin{align} ({\mathcal H}_o+\lambda {\mathcal H}')|N\rangle &= E_n|N\rangle \\ \lambda {\mathcal H}'|N\rangle &= (E_n-{\mathcal H}_o)|N\rangle \\ \langle n|(\lambda {\mathcal H}'|N\rangle) &= \langle n|(E_n-{\mathcal H}_o)|N\rangle \\ \lambda \langle n|{\mathcal H}'|N\rangle &= (E_n-\epsilon_n)\langle n|N\rangle \\ \end{align} }
If we choose to normalize Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \langle n|N \rangle = 1 } , then so far we have: Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle (E_n-\epsilon_m) = \lambda\langle n|{\mathcal H}'|N\rangle } , which is still an exact expression (no approximation have been made yet). The wavefunction we are interested in, Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle |N\rangle } can be rewritten as a summation of the eigenstates of the (unperturbed, Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle {\mathcal H}_o } ) Hamiltonian:
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \begin{align} |N\rangle &= \sum_m|m\rangle\langle m|N\rangle\\ &= |n\rangle\langle n|N\rangle + \sum_{m\neq n}|m\rangle\langle m|N\rangle\\ &= |n\rangle + \sum_{m\neq n}|m\rangle\frac{\lambda\langle m|{\mathcal H}'|N\rangle}{(E_n-\epsilon_m)}\\ \end{align} }
So now we have a recursive relationship for both Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle E_n } and Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle |N\rangle }
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle E_n = \epsilon_n+\lambda\langle n|{\mathcal H}'|N\rangle } where Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle |N\rangle } can be written recursively to any order of desired
where can be written recursively to any order of desired
For example, the expression for to a third order in would be:
Degenerate Perturbation Theory
If more than one eigenstate for the Hamiltonian has the same energy value, the problem is said to be degenerate. If we try to get a solution using perturbation theory, we fail, since Rayleigh-Schroedinger PT includes terms like .
Instead of trying to use these (degenerate) eigenstates with perturbation theory, if we start with the correct linear combinations of eigenstates, regular perturbation theory will no longer fail! So the issue now is how to find these linear combinations.
where etc
The general procedure for doing this type of problem is to create the matrix with elements formed from the degenerate eigenstates of . This matrix can then be diagonalized, and the eigenstates of this matrix are the correct linear combinations to be used in non-degenerate perturbation theory.
One of the well-known examples of an application of degenerate perturbation theory is the Stark Effect. If we consider a Hydrogen atom with in the presence of an external electric field . The Hamiltonian for this system is . The eigenstates of the system are . The matrix of the degenerate eigenstates and the perturbation is:
The full arguments as to how most of these terms are zero is worked out in G Baym's "Lectures on Quantum Mechanics" in the section on Degenerate Perturbation Theory. The correct linear combination of the degenerate eigenstates ends up being
Because of the perturbation due to the electric field, the and states will be unaffected. However, the energy of the and states will have a shift due to the electric field.
Time dependent perturbation theory in Quantum Mechanics
Previously, we learned the time independent perturbation theory which can be applied on various systems in which a little change in the Hamiltonian appears as a correction in the form of a series for the energy and wave functions. However, this stationary approach cannot be used to describe the interaction of electromagnetic field with atoms i.e. photon with Hydrogen atom. This leads us to the Time Dependent Perturbation Theory.
One of the main tasks of this theory is the calculation of transition probabilities from one state to another state that occurs under the influence of time dependent potential. Generally, transition of a system from one state to another state only makes sense if the potential acts only within a finite time period from to . Except for this time period, the total energy is a constant of motion which can be measured. We start with the Time Dependent Schrodinger Equation
then assuming that the perturbation acts after time we get
The problem therefore consists of finding the solution with boundary condition for . However, such a problem is not generally soluble. Therefore, we limit ourselves to the problems in which is small.
Since is small, the time dependence of the solution will largely come from . So we use
Which we substitute into the Schrodinger Equation to get
In this equation we work using interaction representation. Now, we integrate equation (4) to get
or
Equation (5) can be iterated by inserting this equation itself as the integrand in the r.h.s. We can then write equation (5) as
which can be written compactly as
With T as the time ordering operator to ensure it can be expanded in series in the correct order. For now, we consider only the correction to the first order in . If we limit ourselves to the first order we use
We want to see the system undergoes a transition to another state, say . So we project the wave function to . From now on, let for brevity. Projecting into state , we get
Expression (9) is the probability amplitude of transition. Therefore, we square the final expression to get the probability of having the system in state Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle |n\rangle} at time t. Squaring, we get
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \underset{0 \rightarrow n}{P_{(t)}} = |\langle n|\psi(t)\rangle|^2 = \left|\frac{1}{i\hbar}\int_{t_0}^{t}dt' e^{\frac{i}{\hbar}(\epsilon_n - \epsilon_0)t'}\langle n|V_{t'}|0\rangle\right|^2 \qquad (10)}
For example, let us consider a potential Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle V_t} which is turned on sharply at time Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle t_0} , but independent of t thereafter. Furthermore, we let Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle t_0 = 0}
Interaction of radiation and matter
Quantization of electromagnetic radiation
Additional Reading
- Experimental observation of a Lamb-like shift in a solid state setup Science 322, 1357 (2008).
Classical view
Let's use transverse gauge (sometimes called Coulomb gauge):
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \varphi (\mathbf{r},t)=0 }
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \nabla \cdot \mathbf{A}=0}
In this gauge the electromagnetic fields are given by:
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathbf{E}(\mathbf{r},t)=-\frac{1}{c}\frac{\partial \mathbf{A} }{\partial t}}
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathbf{B}(\mathbf{r},t)=\nabla \times \mathbf{A}}
The energy in this radiation is
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \varepsilon = \frac{1}{8\pi} \int d^{3}\mathbf{r} (\mathbf{E}^{2}+\mathbf{B}^{2})}
The rate and direction of energy transfer are given by poynting vector
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathbf{P} = \frac{c}{4\pi} \mathbf{E} \times \mathbf{B} }
The radiation generated by classical current is
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \Box \mathbf{A} = -\frac{4\pi}{c} \mathbf{j}}
Where Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \Box} is the d'Alembert operator. Solutions in the region where Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathbf{j}=0} are given by
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathbf{A}(\mathbf{r},t) = \alpha \boldsymbol{\lambda}\frac{e^{i(\mathbf{k}\cdot\mathbf{r}-\omega t)}}{\sqrt{V}}+\alpha^{*} \boldsymbol{\lambda}^{*} \frac{e^{-i(\mathbf{k}\cdot\mathbf{r}-\omega t)}}{\sqrt{V}} }
where Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \omega=c|\mathbf{k}|} and Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \boldsymbol{\lambda}\cdot \mathbf{k}=0 } in order to satisfy the transversality. Here the plane waves are normalized respect to a volume Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle V} . This is just for convenience and the physics wont change. We can choose Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \boldsymbol{\lambda}\cdot\boldsymbol{\lambda}^{*}=1} . Notice that in this writing Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathbf{A}} is a real vector.
Let's compute Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \varepsilon} . For this
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \begin{align} \mathbf{E}(\mathbf{r},t) & =-\frac{1}{c}\frac{\partial \mathbf{A} }{\partial t} \\ & =-\frac{1}{c\sqrt{V}}\frac{\partial}{\partial t}\left[\alpha \boldsymbol{\lambda}e^{i(\mathbf{k}\cdot\mathbf{r}-\omega t)}+\alpha^{*} \boldsymbol{\lambda}^{*} e^{-i(\mathbf{k}\cdot\mathbf{r}-\omega t)}\right] \\ & =-\frac{i\omega}{c\sqrt{V}}\left[-\alpha \boldsymbol{\lambda} e^{i(\mathbf{k}\cdot\mathbf{r}-\omega t)}+\alpha^{*} \boldsymbol{\lambda}^{*} e^{-i(\mathbf{k}\cdot\mathbf{r}-\omega t)}\right] \\ \mathbf{E}^{2}(\mathbf{r},t) & = -\frac{\omega^{2}}{c^{2}V}\left[\alpha^{2} \boldsymbol{\lambda}^{2} e^{2i(\mathbf{k}\cdot\mathbf{r}-\omega t)}-\alpha\alpha^{*}\boldsymbol{\lambda}\cdot\boldsymbol{\lambda}^{*}-\alpha^{*}\alpha\boldsymbol{\lambda}^{*}\cdot\boldsymbol{\lambda}+\alpha^{*2} \boldsymbol{\lambda}^{*2} e^{-2i(\mathbf{k}\cdot\mathbf{r}-\omega t)}\right] \\ \end{align} }
Taking the average, the oscillating terms will disappear. Then we have
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \begin{align} \mathbf{E}^{2}(\mathbf{r}) & = \frac{\omega^{2}}{c^{2}V}\left[\alpha\alpha^{*}+\alpha^{*}\alpha\right] \\ &=2\frac{\omega^{2}}{c^{2}V}|\alpha|^2 \\ \end{align} }
It is well known that for plane waves Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathbf{B}=\mathbf{n}\times \mathbf{E} } , where is the direction of . This clearly shows that . However let's see this explicitly:
Each component is given by
Then
Again taking the average the oscillating terms vanish. Then we have
Finally the energy of this radiation is given by
So far we have treated the potential as a combination of two waves with the same frequency. Now let's extend the discussion to any form of . To do this we can expand in a infinite series of Fourier:
To calculate the energy with use the fact that any exponential time-dependent term is in average zero. Therefore in the previous sum all cross terms with different vanishes. Then it is clear that
Then the energy is given by
Let's define the following quantities:
Notice that
Adding
Then the energy (in this case the Hamiltonian) can be written as
We end up with a collection of harmonic oscillators, each labeled by Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathbf{k}} adn Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \boldsymbol{\lambda}} , whose frequencies depends on Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle |\mathbf{k}|} .
From classical mechanics to quatum mechanics for radiation
As usual we proceed to do the canonical quantization:
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \begin{align} P_{\mathbf{k}\boldsymbol{\lambda}} & \to \mathbf{P}_{\mathbf{k}\boldsymbol{\lambda}}\\ Q_{\mathbf{k}\boldsymbol{\lambda}} & \to \mathbf{Q}_{\mathbf{k}\boldsymbol{\lambda}}\\ \end{align}}
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \begin{align} A_{\mathbf{k}\boldsymbol{\lambda}} & \to \sqrt{\frac{2\pi \hbar}{\omega_{\mathbf{k}}}}c\;\mathbf{a}_{\mathbf{k}\boldsymbol{\lambda}}\; , \; [\mathbf{a}_{\mathbf{k}\boldsymbol{\lambda}},\mathbf{a}^{\dagger}_{\mathbf{k}\boldsymbol{\lambda}}]=\delta_{\mathbf{kk'}}\delta_{\boldsymbol{\lambda \lambda'}}\\ \end{align}}
Where last are quantum operators. The Hamiltonian can be written as
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \begin{align} \mathbf{H}_{radiation}&=\sum_{\mathbf{k}\boldsymbol{\lambda}}\hbar \omega_{\mathbf{k}}(\mathbf{a}^{\dagger}_{\mathbf{k} \boldsymbol{\lambda}} \mathbf{a}_{\mathbf{k} \boldsymbol{\lambda}}+\frac{1}{2}) &=\frac{1}{2}\sum_{\mathbf{k}\boldsymbol{\lambda}}\hbar \omega_{\mathbf{k}}(\mathbf{a}^{\dagger}_{\mathbf{k} \boldsymbol{\lambda}} \mathbf{a}_{\mathbf{k} \boldsymbol{\lambda}}+\mathbf{a}_{\mathbf{k} \boldsymbol{\lambda}} \mathbf{a}^{\dagger}_{\mathbf{k} \boldsymbol{\lambda}})\\ \end{align}}
The classical potential can be written as
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \underbrace{A(\mathbf{r},t)=\sum_{\mathbf{k}\boldsymbol{\lambda}} \left[A_{\mathbf{k}\boldsymbol{\lambda}} \boldsymbol{\lambda}\frac{e^{i(\mathbf{k}\cdot\mathbf{r}-\omega t)}}{\sqrt{V}}+A_{\mathbf{k}\boldsymbol{\lambda}}^{*} \boldsymbol{\lambda}^{*} \frac{e^{-i(\mathbf{k}\cdot\mathbf{r}-\omega t)}}{\sqrt{V}}\right]}_\textrm{Classical Vector potential}\;\;\;\longrightarrow\;\;\; \underbrace{\mathbf{A}_{int}(\mathbf{r},t)=\sqrt{\frac{2\pi \hbar}{\omega_{\mathbf{k}}}}c\sum_{\mathbf{k}\boldsymbol{\lambda}} \left[\mathbf{a}_{\mathbf{k}\boldsymbol{\lambda}} \boldsymbol{\lambda}\frac{e^{i(\mathbf{k}\cdot\mathbf{r}-\omega t)}}{\sqrt{V}}+\mathbf{a}_{\mathbf{k}\boldsymbol{\lambda}}^{\dagger} \boldsymbol{\lambda}^{*} \frac{e^{-i(\mathbf{k}\cdot\mathbf{r}-\omega t)}}{\sqrt{V}}\right]}_\textrm{Quantum Operator} }
Notice that the quantum operator is time dependent. Therefor we can identify it as the field operator in interaction representation. (That's the reason to label it with int). Let's find the Schrodinger representation of the field operator:
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \begin{align} \mathbf{A}(\mathbf{r})&=e^{-\frac{i}{\hbar}\mathbf{H}_{rad}t}\mathbf{A}_{int}(\mathbf{r},t)e^{\frac{i}{\hbar}\mathbf{H}_{rad}t}\\ &=e^{-\frac{i}{\hbar}\mathbf{H}_{rad}t}\left[\sqrt{\frac{2\pi \hbar}{\omega_{\mathbf{k}}}}c\sum_{\mathbf{k}\boldsymbol{\lambda}} \left[\mathbf{a}_{\mathbf{k}\boldsymbol{\lambda}} \boldsymbol{\lambda}\frac{e^{i(\mathbf{k}\cdot\mathbf{r}-\omega t)}}{\sqrt{V}}+\mathbf{a}_{\mathbf{k}\boldsymbol{\lambda}}^{\dagger} \boldsymbol{\lambda}^{*} \frac{e^{-i(\mathbf{k}\cdot\mathbf{r}-\omega t)}}{\sqrt{V}}\right]\right]e^{\frac{i}{\hbar}\mathbf{H}_{rad}t}\\ &=\sqrt{\frac{2\pi \hbar}{\omega_{\mathbf{k}}}}c\sum_{\mathbf{k}\boldsymbol{\lambda}} \left[\left[e^{-\frac{i}{\hbar}\mathbf{H}_{rad}t} \mathbf{a}_{\mathbf{k}\boldsymbol{\lambda}}e^{\frac{i}{\hbar}\mathbf{H}_{rad}t}\right] \boldsymbol{\lambda}\frac{e^{i(\mathbf{k}\cdot\mathbf{r}-\omega t)}}{\sqrt{V}}+\left[ e^{-\frac{i}{\hbar}\mathbf{H}_{rad}t}\mathbf{a}_{\mathbf{k}\boldsymbol{\lambda}}^{\dagger} e^{\frac{i}{\hbar}\mathbf{H}_{rad}t}\right] \boldsymbol{\lambda}^{*} \frac{e^{-i(\mathbf{k}\cdot\mathbf{r}-\omega t)}}{\sqrt{V}}\right]\\ &=\sqrt{\frac{2\pi \hbar}{\omega_{\mathbf{k}}}}c\sum_{\mathbf{k}\boldsymbol{\lambda}} \left[\left[\mathbf{a}_{\mathbf{k}\boldsymbol{\lambda}}e^{i\omega t}\right] \boldsymbol{\lambda}\frac{e^{i(\mathbf{k}\cdot\mathbf{r}-\omega t)}}{\sqrt{V}}+\left[ \mathbf{a}_{\mathbf{k}\boldsymbol{\lambda}}^{\dagger} e^{-i\omega t}\right] \boldsymbol{\lambda}^{*} \frac{e^{-i(\mathbf{k}\cdot\mathbf{r}-\omega t)}}{\sqrt{V}}\right]\\ &=\sqrt{\frac{2\pi \hbar}{\omega_{\mathbf{k}}}}c\sum_{\mathbf{k}\boldsymbol{\lambda}} \left[\mathbf{a}_{\mathbf{k}\boldsymbol{\lambda}} \boldsymbol{\lambda}\frac{e^{i\mathbf{k}\cdot\mathbf{r}}}{\sqrt{V}}+\mathbf{a}_{\mathbf{k}\boldsymbol{\lambda}}^{\dagger} \boldsymbol{\lambda}^{*} \frac{e^{-i\mathbf{k}\cdot\mathbf{r}}}{\sqrt{V}}\right]\\ \end{align}}
COMMENTS
- The meaning of Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathbf{H}_{radiation}} is as following: The classical electromagnetic field is quantized. This quantum field exist even if there is not any source. This means that the vacuum is a physical object who can interact with matter. In classical mechanics this doesn't occur because, fields are created by sources.
- Due to this, the vacuum has to be treated as a quantum dynamical object. Therefore we can define to this object a quantum state.
- The perturbation of this quantum field is called photon (it is called the quanta of the electromagnetic field).
ANALYSIS OF THE VACUUM AT GROUND STATE
Let's call Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle |0\rangle} the ground state of the vacuum. The following can be stated:
- The energy of the ground state is infinite. To see this notice that for ground state we have Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \begin{align} \mathbf{H}_{radiation}&=\sum_{\mathbf{k}\boldsymbol{\lambda}} \frac{1}{2} \hbar \omega_{\mathbf{k}}=\infin \end{align}}
- The state Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \;\mathbf{a}^{\dagger}_{\mathbf{k} \boldsymbol{\lambda}}|0\rangle} represent an exited state of the vacuum with energy Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \hbar \omega_{\mathbf{k}}(1+1/2)} . This means that the extra energy Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \hbar \omega_{\mathbf{k}}} is carried by a single photon. Therefore Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathbf{a}^{\dagger}_{\mathbf{k} \boldsymbol{\lambda}}} represent the creation operator of one single photon with energy Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \hbar \omega_{\mathbf{k}}} . In the same reasoning, Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathbf{a}_{\mathbf{k} \boldsymbol{\lambda}}} represent the annihilation operator of one single photon.
- Consider the following normalized state of the vacuum:
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}\mathbf{a}^{\dagger}_{\mathbf{k} \boldsymbol{\lambda}}\mathbf{a}^{\dagger}_{\mathbf{k} \boldsymbol{\lambda}}|0\rangle}
. At the first glance we may think that Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathbf{a}^{\dagger}_{\mathbf{k} \boldsymbol{\lambda}}\mathbf{a}^{\dagger}_{\mathbf{k} \boldsymbol{\lambda}}}
creates a single photon with energy Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 2\hbar \omega_{\mathbf{k}}}
. However this interpretation is forbidden in our model. Instead, this operator will create two photons each of the carryng the energy Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \hbar \omega_{\mathbf{k}}}
.
Proof
Suppose that Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathbf{a}^{\dagger}_{\mathbf{k} \boldsymbol{\lambda}}\mathbf{a}^{\dagger}_{\mathbf{k} \boldsymbol{\lambda}}} creates a single photon with energy Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 2\hbar \omega_{\mathbf{k}}} . We can find an operator Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathbf{a}^{\dagger}_{\mathbf{k'} \boldsymbol{\lambda}}} who can create a photon with the same energy Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 2\hbar \omega_{\mathbf{k}}} . This means that
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}\mathbf{a}^{\dagger}_{\mathbf{k} \boldsymbol{\lambda}}\mathbf{a}^{\dagger}_{\mathbf{k} \boldsymbol{\lambda}}|0\rangle\overset{\underset{\mathrm{?}}{}}{=} \mathbf{a}^{\dagger}_{\mathbf{k'} \boldsymbol{\lambda}}|0\rangle \;\;\;\longrightarrow\;\;\;\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}\mathbf{a}^{\dagger}_{\mathbf{k} \boldsymbol{\lambda}}\mathbf{a}^{\dagger}_{\mathbf{k} \boldsymbol{\lambda}} \overset{\underset{\mathrm{?}}{}}{=} \mathbf{a}^{\dagger}_{\mathbf{k'} \boldsymbol{\lambda}}\;\;\;\longrightarrow\;\;\;\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}\mathbf{a}_{\mathbf{k} \boldsymbol{\lambda}}\mathbf{a}_{\mathbf{k} \boldsymbol{\lambda}} \overset{\underset{\mathrm{?}}{}}{=} \mathbf{a}_{\mathbf{k'} \boldsymbol{\lambda}} }
Let's see if this works. Using commutation relationship we have
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \left[ \underbrace{\mathbf{a}_{\mathbf{k} \boldsymbol{\lambda}}\mathbf{a}_{\mathbf{k} \boldsymbol{\lambda}}},\mathbf{a}^{\dagger}_{\mathbf{k'} \boldsymbol{\lambda}}\right]=0 }
Replace the highlighted part by Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathbf{a}_{\mathbf{k'} \boldsymbol{\lambda}}}
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \left[\mathbf{a}_{\mathbf{k'} \boldsymbol{\lambda}},\mathbf{a}^{\dagger}_{\mathbf{k'} \boldsymbol{\lambda}}\right]=0 }
Since Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \left[\mathbf{a}_{\mathbf{k'} \boldsymbol{\lambda}},\mathbf{a}^{\dagger}_{\mathbf{k'} \boldsymbol{\lambda}}\right]=1} , the initial assumption is wrong, namely:
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}\mathbf{a}^{\dagger}_{\mathbf{k} \boldsymbol{\lambda}}\mathbf{a}^{\dagger}_{\mathbf{k} \boldsymbol{\lambda}}|0\rangle \ne \mathbf{a}^{\dagger}_{\mathbf{k'} \boldsymbol{\lambda}}|0\rangle }
This means that Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathbf{a}^{\dagger}_{\mathbf{k} \boldsymbol{\lambda}}\mathbf{a}^{\dagger}_{\mathbf{k} \boldsymbol{\lambda}} } cannot create a single photon with energy Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 2\hbar \omega_{\mathbf{k}}} . Instead it will create two photons each of them with energy Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \hbar \omega_{\mathbf{k}\blacksquare}}
ALGEBRA OF VACUUM STATES
A general vacuum state can be written as
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle |n_{\mathbf{k_{1}} \boldsymbol{\lambda_{1}}};n_{\mathbf{k_{2}} \boldsymbol{\lambda_{2}}};...;n_{\mathbf{k_{i}} \boldsymbol{\lambda_{i}}};...\rangle }
where Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle n_{\mathbf{k_{i}} \boldsymbol{\lambda_{i}}}} is the number of photons in the state Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathbf{k_{i}} \boldsymbol{\lambda_{i}}} which exist in the vacuum. Using our knowledge of harmonic oscillator we conclude that this state can be written as
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle |n_{\mathbf{k_{1}} \boldsymbol{\lambda_{1}}};n_{\mathbf{k_{2}} \boldsymbol{\lambda_{2}}};...;n_{\mathbf{k_{i}} \boldsymbol{\lambda_{i}}};...\rangle=\prod_{\mathbf{k_{j}} \boldsymbol{\lambda_{j}}}\frac{( \mathbf{a}^{\dagger}_{\mathbf{k} \boldsymbol{\lambda}})^{n_{\mathbf{k_{j}} \boldsymbol{\lambda_{j}}}}}{\sqrt{n_{\mathbf{k_{j}} \boldsymbol{\lambda_{j}}}!}}|0\rangle }
Also it is clear that
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathbf{a}^{\dagger}_{\mathbf{k_{i}} \boldsymbol{\lambda_{i}}}|n_{\mathbf{k_{1}} \boldsymbol{\lambda_{1}}};n_{\mathbf{k_{2}} \boldsymbol{\lambda_{2}}};...;n_{\mathbf{k_{i}} \boldsymbol{\lambda_{i}}};...\rangle=\sqrt{n_{\mathbf{k_{i}} \boldsymbol{\lambda_{i}}}+1}|n_{\mathbf{k_{1}} \boldsymbol{\lambda_{1}}};n_{\mathbf{k_{2}} \boldsymbol{\lambda_{2}}};...;n_{\mathbf{k_{i}} \boldsymbol{\lambda_{i}}}+1;...\rangle }
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathbf{a}_{\mathbf{k_{i}} \boldsymbol{\lambda_{i}}}|n_{\mathbf{k_{1}} \boldsymbol{\lambda_{1}}};n_{\mathbf{k_{2}} \boldsymbol{\lambda_{2}}};...;n_{\mathbf{k_{i}} \boldsymbol{\lambda_{i}}};...\rangle=\sqrt{n_{\mathbf{k_{i}} \boldsymbol{\lambda_{i}}}}|n_{\mathbf{k_{1}} \boldsymbol{\lambda_{1}}};n_{\mathbf{k_{2}} \boldsymbol{\lambda_{2}}};...;n_{\mathbf{k_{i}} \boldsymbol{\lambda_{i}}}-1;...\rangle }
Matter + Radiation: Electron bounded to a nucleus with transverse radiation field
The Hamiltonian of the system can be written as:
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \begin{align} \mathbf{H}&=\mathbf{H}_{particle+radiation}+\mathbf{H}_{radiation}\\ &=\frac{(\mathbf{P}-\frac{e}{c}\mathbf{A}(\mathbf{r}))^{2}}{2m}+\mathbf{V(\mathbf{r})}+\sum_{\mathbf{k}\boldsymbol{\lambda}}\hbar \omega_{\mathbf{k}}(\mathbf{a}^{\dagger}_{\mathbf{k} \boldsymbol{\lambda}} \mathbf{a}_{\mathbf{k} \boldsymbol{\lambda}}+\frac{1}{2}) \end{align}}
Notice that in this writing the Hamiltonian is time independent. The field operator Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \mathbf{A}(\mathbf{r})}
must be time independent. The state of whole system can be written as
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle |\psi\rangle=|m;\{n_{\mathbf{k} \boldsymbol{\lambda}}\}\rangle=|m\rangle\otimes|\{n_{\mathbf{k} \boldsymbol{\lambda}}\}\rangle}
The Schrodinger equation can be transformed to interaction representation (all operators with be time dependent). This transformation is give by:
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \begin{align} |\psi\rangle&=e^{-\frac{i}{\hbar}\mathbf{H}_{rad}t}|\chi\rangle\\ |\chi\rangle&=e^{-\frac{i}{\hbar}\mathbf{H}_{par}t}|\varphi\rangle \;\;\;\longleftarrow\;\;\; \mathbf{H}_{par}=\frac{\mathbf{P}^{2}}{2m}+\mathbf{V(\mathbf{r})}\\ \end{align}}
Then
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \begin{align} i\hbar \frac{\partial }{\partial t }|\psi\rangle &=[\mathbf{H}_{par+rad}+\mathbf{H}_{rad}] |\psi\rangle \\ i\hbar \frac{\partial }{\partial t }e^{-\frac{i}{\hbar}\mathbf{H}_{rad}t}|\chi\rangle &=[\mathbf{H}_{par+rad}+\mathbf{H}_{rad}] e^{-\frac{i}{\hbar}\mathbf{H}_{rad}t}|\chi\rangle \\ \mathbf{H}_{rad} e^{-\frac{i}{\hbar}\mathbf{H}_{rad}t}|\chi\rangle +i\hbar e^{-\frac{i}{\hbar}\mathbf{H}_{rad}t} \frac{\partial }{\partial t }|\chi\rangle &=[\mathbf{H}_{par+rad}+\mathbf{H}_{rad}] e^{-\frac{i}{\hbar}\mathbf{H}_{rad}t}|\chi\rangle \\ i\hbar \frac{\partial }{\partial t }|\chi\rangle &=e^{\frac{i}{\hbar}\mathbf{H}_{rad}t}\mathbf{H}_{par+rad} e^{-\frac{i}{\hbar}\mathbf{H}_{rad}t}|\chi\rangle \\ i\hbar \frac{\partial }{\partial t }|\chi\rangle &=e^{\frac{i}{\hbar}\mathbf{H}_{rad}t}\left[ \frac{(\mathbf{P}-\frac{e}{c}\mathbf{A}(\mathbf{r}))^{2}}{2m}+\mathbf{V(\mathbf{r})}\right ] e^{-\frac{i}{\hbar}\mathbf{H}_{rad}t}|\chi\rangle \\ i\hbar \frac{\partial }{\partial t }|\chi\rangle &=\left[ \frac{e^{\frac{i}{\hbar}\mathbf{H}_{rad}t}(\mathbf{P}-\frac{e}{c}\mathbf{A}(\mathbf{r}))^{2}e^{-\frac{i}{\hbar}\mathbf{H}_{rad}t}}{2m}+\mathbf{V}_{int}(\mathbf{r})\right ] |\chi\rangle \\ i\hbar \frac{\partial }{\partial t }|\chi\rangle &=\left[ \frac{(\mathbf{P}-\frac{e}{c}\mathbf{A}_{int}(\mathbf{r},t))^{2}}{2m}+\mathbf{V}(\mathbf{r})\right ] |\chi\rangle \\ i\hbar \frac{\partial }{\partial t }|\chi\rangle &=\left[\left(\frac{\mathbf{P}^{2}}{2m} +\mathbf{V}(\mathbf{r})\right)-2\frac{e}{2mc}\mathbf{A}_{int}(\mathbf{r},t)\mathbf{P}+\frac{e^{2}} {2mc^{2}} \mathbf{A}^{2}_{int}(\mathbf{r},t) \right ] |\chi\rangle \\ i\hbar \frac{\partial }{\partial t }e^{-\frac{i}{\hbar}\mathbf{H}_{par}t}|\varphi\rangle &=\left[\left(\frac{\mathbf{P}^{2}}{2m} +\mathbf{V}(\mathbf{r})\right)-2\frac{e}{2mc}\mathbf{A}_{int}(\mathbf{r},t)\mathbf{P}+\frac{e^{2}} {2mc^{2}} \mathbf{A}^{2}_{int}(\mathbf{r},t) \right ] e^{-\frac{i}{\hbar}\mathbf{H}_{par}t}|\varphi\rangle \\ \mathbf{H}_{par} e^{-\frac{i}{\hbar}\mathbf{H}_{rad}t}|\varphi\rangle +i\hbar e^{-\frac{i}{\hbar}\mathbf{H}_{rad}t} \frac{\partial }{\partial t }|\varphi\rangle &=\left[\mathbf{H}_{par}-\frac{e}{mc}\mathbf{A}_{int}(\mathbf{r},t)\mathbf{P}+\frac{e^{2}} {2mc^{2}} \mathbf{A}^{2}_{int}(\mathbf{r},t) \right ] e^{-\frac{i}{\hbar}\mathbf{H}_{par}t}|\varphi\rangle \\ i\hbar e^{-\frac{i}{\hbar}\mathbf{H}_{rad}t} \frac{\partial }{\partial t }|\varphi\rangle &=\left[-\frac{e}{mc}\mathbf{A}_{int}(\mathbf{r},t)\mathbf{P}+\frac{e^{2}} {2mc^{2}} \mathbf{A}^{2}_{int}(\mathbf{r},t) \right ] e^{-\frac{i}{\hbar}\mathbf{H}_{par}t}|\varphi\rangle \\ i\hbar \frac{\partial }{\partial t }|\varphi\rangle &=e^{\frac{i}{\hbar}\mathbf{H}_{rad}t} \left[-\frac{e}{mc}\mathbf{A}_{int}(\mathbf{r},t)\mathbf{P}+\frac{e^{2}} {2mc^{2}} \mathbf{A}^{2}_{int}(\mathbf{r},t) \right ] e^{-\frac{i}{\hbar}\mathbf{H}_{par}t}|\varphi\rangle \\ i\hbar \frac{\partial }{\partial t }|\varphi\rangle &= \left[-\frac{e}{mc}\mathbf{A}_{int}(\mathbf{e^{\frac{i}{\hbar}\mathbf{H}_{rad}t}re^{-\frac{i}{\hbar}\mathbf{H}_{rad}t}},t)\mathbf{P}_{int}(t)+\frac{e^{2}} {2mc^{2}} \mathbf{A}^{2}_{int}(\mathbf{e^{\frac{i}{\hbar}\mathbf{H}_{rad}t}re^{-\frac{i}{\hbar}\mathbf{H}_{rad}t}},t) \right ] |\varphi\rangle \\ i\hbar \frac{\partial }{\partial t }|\varphi\rangle &= \left[ -\frac{e}{mc}\mathbf{A}_{int}(\mathbf{r}_{int}(t),t)\mathbf{P}_{int}(t)+\frac{e^{2}} {2mc^{2}} \mathbf{A}^{2}_{int}(\mathbf{r}_{int}(t),t) \right ] |\varphi\rangle \\ \end{align}}
Non-perturbative methods
One important method in approximate determination of wave function and eigenvalue is Variational Principle. Variation method is very general one that it can be used whenever the equations can be put into variational form.
Spin
Spin 1/2 Angular Momentum
The angular momentum of a stationary spin 1/2 particle is found to be quantized to the Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \pm\frac{\hbar}{2}} regardless of the direction of the axis chosen to measure the angular momentum. There is a vector operator Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \textbf{\overrightarrow{S}}=(S_{x}, S_{y}, S_{z})} when projected along an arbitrary axis satisfies the following equations:
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \overrightarrow{S}\cdot\hat{m}|\hat{m}\uparrow\rangle = \dfrac{\hbar}{2}|\hat{m}\uparrow\rangle}
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \overrightarrow{S}\cdot\hat{m}|\hat{m}\downarrow\rangle = \dfrac{-\hbar}{2}|\hat{m}\downarrow\rangle}
Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle |\hat{m}\uparrow\rangle} and Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle |\hat{m}\downarrow\rangle} form a complete basis, which means that any state Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle |\hat{n}\uparrow\rangle} and Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle |\hat{n}\downarrow\rangle} can be expanded as a linear combination of Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle |\hat{m}\uparrow\rangle} and .
The spin angular momentum operator obeys the standard commutation relations
The most commonly used basis is the one which diagonalizes .
By acting on the states and with , we find
Now by acting to the left with another state, we can form a 2x2 matrix.
where is the z Pauli spin matrix. Repeating the steps (or commutator relations), we can solve for the x and y directions.
Properties of the Pauli Spin Matrices
Each Pauli matrix squared produces the unity matrix
The commutation relation is as follows
and the anticommutator relation
For example, if
Then
The above equation is true for 1/2 spins only!!
In general
Finally, any 2x2 matrix can be written in the form
for infinitesimal
Note that using the previous developed formulas, we find that
To this order in :
for finite (correct for all orders)
Addition of angular momenta
Total angular momentum is defined as
where Hilbert space size is .
We have the following commutation relations:
which can be used to find the eigenstate of and .
.
There are two sets of base kets which can be used:
1. The simultaneous eigenkets of , , , , denoted by . These four operators commute with each other, and they operate on the base kets according to:
2. The simultaneous eigenkets of , , and , denoted by . These four operators operate on the base kets according to:
For example, assume two spin 1/2 particles with basis . These states are eigenstates of , but are they eigenstates of and ?
define
Which means that is not an eigenstate of .
Orthogonality (with Clebsch Gordon Coefficients)
Hydrogen atom with spin orbit coupling given by the following hamiltonian
Recall, the atomic spectrum for bound states
The ground state, , is doubly degenerate:
First excited state is 8-fold degenerate:
nth state is fold degenerate
We can break apart the angular momentum and spin into its x, y, z-components
Define lowering and raising operators
For the ground state, , nothing happens. Kramer's theorem protects the double degeneracy.
For the first excited state, , once again nothing happens.
For , there is a four fold degeneracy.
For the exact solution,
add the angular momenta:
So that
Define J_
Can express as
When we project these states on the previously found states, we find that
and