NATURAL SCIENCES TRIPOS Part II

Thursday 1st June 2006 9.00 to 11.00

EXPERIMENTAL AND THEORETICAL PHYSICS (2)
Attempt the whole of Section A, and two questions from Section B.
Answers from Section A should be tied up in a single bundle, with
the letter A written clearly on the cover sheet. Answers to each
question from Section B should be tied up separately, with the
number of the question written clearly on the cover sheet.
Section A carries approximately a quarter of the total marks. The
approximate number of marks allocated to each part of a question
in Section B is indicated in the right margin. This paper contains 3
sides, and is accompanied by a book giving values of constants and
containing mathematical formulae which you may quote without
proof.
STATIONERY REQUIREMENTS
Script paper
Metric graph paper
Rough work pad
Blue coversheets
Tags
SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS
Mathematical formulae handbook
Approved calculators allowed
You may not start to read the questions
printed on the subsequent pages of this
question paper until instructed that you
may do so by the Invigilator.
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2
SECTION A
Answers should be concise, and relevant formulae may be assumed
without proof. All questions carry an equal amount of credit.
A1 An electron is placed in a box of dimensions 10 nm10 nm5 nm.
Calculate the energies and degeneracies of the two lowest levels of this system.
A2 You are given a light source which is claimed to produce a regular stream of
single photons with an interval of 20 ns between each photon. How could you
demonstrate that it is working?
A3 Use Hunds rules to nd the spectroscopic term which describes the ground
state of the silicon atom (Z = 14).
A4 Explain why a 4-level system is typically used to produce an ecient laser.
SECTION B
B5 Write brief notes on three of the following: [22]
(a) Fermis golden rule, giving examples of its application;
(b) the LS and jj coupling schemes;
(c) the prediction of positrons from the Dirac equation and their subsequent
discovery;
(d) quantum bits and quantum gates.
B6 A system with Hamiltonian

H
0
has non-degenerate eigenstates |
n
with
energies E
(0)
n
. If a perturbation

H

is applied, show that, to rst order, the energies

are given by
E
n
= E
(0)
n
+
n
|

|
n

and the eigenstates are

|
n
= |
n
+

k=n

k
|

|
n

E
(0)
n
E
(0)
k
|
k
.
[8]
Consider an electron in the electrostatic eld of a nucleus of charge Ze.
Normally, the nucleus is considered as a point charge, giving eigenstates
nl
with
energies E
nl
. Instead, let the nuclear charge be distributed uniformly within a
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3
sphere of radius R, so that the electrostatic potential due to the nucleus is
V (r) =

Ze
2
(4
0
)2R

r
2
R
2
3

, r R

Ze
2
(4
0
)r
, r > R .
Show that, in the limit of R a
0
, the energy of the 1s state is shifted by an
amount
E =
2
5
e
2
(4
0
)
Z
4
R
2
a
3
0
.
[8]

You may use the result

1s
=

Z
3
a
3
0

1/2
exp (Zr/a
0
), where a
0
is the Bohr
radius.

Calculate the fractional change in the energy of the 1s state of carbon

(Z = 6) as a result of this perturbation, taking R = 2.4 10
15
m. [4]

The energy of the 1s state of hydrogen is 13.6 eV, and

a
0
= 0.53 10
10
m.

Explain qualitatively why the energy shift for p states is much smaller than
the shift for the 1s state. [2]
B7 The Schrodinger equation for a particle with mass m and charge q in an
electromagnetic eld is
1
2m
( p qA)
2
+ q = ih

t
.
Show that, under a gauge transformation
A A

= A+f(r, t)

=
f
t
,
the wavefunction satisfying the corresponding Schrodinger equation becomes

= e
iqf/h
.
[8]
A particle moves around a closed loop following a path where B = 0, but
enclosing a region containing a magnetic ux . Find an expression for the change
in phase of the wavefunction around the loop. [8]
Describe an experiment that could be used to demonstrate the
Aharonov-Bohm eect, explaining what observations would conrm the presence
of the eect. Assuming sensible dimensions for the experiment, estimate what
magnitude of magnetic eld would be required. [6]
END OF PAPER
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