Phys.

5401 - QUANTUM MECHANICS II - HOMEWORK 4

Due in class on Monday, October 28.

1. An electric field E(t) (such that E(t) → 0 fast enough as t → −∞)
is incident on a charged (q) harmonic oscillator (ω) in the x direction,
which gives rise to an added ”potential energy” V (x, t) = −qxE(t).
This whole problem is one-dimensional.
(a) Using first-order time dependent perturbation theory, write down
the amplitude cn (t) for finding the system in excited state n at time t
if the system starts in n = 0 at t → −∞.
(b) Find the expectation value of the momentum of the oscillator as a
function of time.
(c) The exact classical solution to the same problem with the initial
conditions x = p = 0 at t → −∞ is
Z t 
0
p(t) = Re dt0 e−iω(t−t ) qE(t0 )
−∞

. Compare this with the result of part (b).

2. Consider a two-level atom with the state space spanned by the two or-
thonormal states |1i and |2i, dipole-coupled to an external time depen-
dent driving field E(t). After a unitary transformation to the “rotating
frame”, the Hamiltonian reads
H
= ∆|2ih2| − f (t) (|2ih1| + |1ih2|)
h̄
where ∆ is the difference between the atomic transition frequency
ω0 and the frequency of the nearly monochromatic driving field ω,
and f (t) is proportional to the temporal envelope of the driving field:
E(t) ∝ f (t) cos(ωt). Suppose that
  !2   !2 
λ  t + T /2 t − T /2 
f (t) = √ exp −  + exp −
2 πτ  τ τ 

This represents two pulses of light of length hitting the system at times
±T /2. Let us assume that the amplitude of the driving field λ is “very
small”, and that the system starts out in the state |1i.

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 a) Expand a general wavefunction of the system in the basis of sta-
tionary states |1i and |2i of the unperturbed atomic Hamiltonian, and
write the solutions for the two expansion coefficients c1 (t) and c2 (t) to
leading order in λ.
b) Find the probability that the system is in the state |2i after the
pulses are gone.
NOTE: You are describing what is called Ramsey fringes, the founda-
tion of modern ultrahigh-precision spectroscopy.

3. (a) Consider a rigid rotator (i.e. a bar shaped system of fixed sepa-
ration) of moment of inertia I about an axis through its center per-
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pendicular to the direction of the bar, with Hamiltonian H0 = L2I and
electric dipole moment d. Suppose that while it is in its ground state
it is subjected to a perturbation

V (t) = −d · E(t)

due to a time-dependent external electric field

E(t) = ẑE0 et/τ

which points in the z-direction and which is switched on at time t = 0.

Here E0 is a time-independent constant. Determine to which of its
excited states the rotator can make transitions in lowest order in V (t) ,
and calculate the transition probabilities for finding the rotator in each
of these states at time t → ∞.
(b) If instead of being in its ground state, the rotator was in a state with
angular momentum L = 3 at the time V (t) was switched on, determine
the states to which it would be able to make transitions in lowest order
in V (t). (For this part do not calculate the transition probabilities.)

4. Suppose that the system is a single spinless particle of mass M and

charge e in a central Coulomb potential and the quantum numbers of
the initial state are labeled |n, l, mi in the usual way. It is subject
to perturbation with magnetic field B(t) = B0 e−λt pointing in the x
direction, which adds a term eLx B(t)/(2M c) to the Hamiltonian. Find
(i) the quantum number selection rules for allowed transitions to a
different state |n0 , l0 , m0 i;

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 (ii) the associated energy differences for the allowed transitions,
(ii) the probabilities for each allowed transition.

5. Exercise 18.2.5 from Shankar

6. Exercise 18.2.6 from Shankar