The motion of a neutral atom endowed with a magnetic moment interacting with the magnetic field is determined from the Ehrenfest-like equations of motion. These equations for the average values of the translational and spin degrees of freedom are derived from the Schr\"odinger-Pauli wave equation, and they form a set of nine coupled nonlinear evolution equations. The numerical and analytic solutions of these equations are obtained for the combination of the rotating magnetic field of a wave carrying orbital angular momentum and a static magnetic field. The running wave traps the atom only in the transverse direction, while the standing wave traps the atom also in the direction of the beam.
Spin is an intrinsic form of angular momentum carried by elementary particles, composite particles, and atomic nuclei. It is wildly believed that spin is a purely quantum mechanical concept and has no classical analogue. In fact, elementary particles are conceived as point objects which have no axis to “spin” around. Therefore, there is no explaining how spin arises at the fundamental level, why particles have the values they do, and what underpins the Pauli Exclusion principle and Bose-Einstein behavior. However, spin is like a vector quantity; it has a definite magnitude, and it has a “direction”, in order to spin should be composite. In this paper we propose a physical explanation for spin of the electron at the sub-particle level, relying on the vortex model of the electron. The electron is described as a superfluid frictionless vortex which has a mass, angular momentum and spin to provide a complete explanation of all properties of the electron: it composite, spinning around its own axis, produces a tiny magnetic fields independent of those from its orbital motions. The classical hydrodynamic laws are used to describe the quantum properties of the electron, such as spin, angular momentum, magnetic momentum and a magnetic dipole. The circulation in the vortex is constant, and the angular momentum of the vortex is conserved and has the same value of Planck constant. The direction of the angular momentum of a spinning electron vortex is along the axis of rotation and determined by the direction of spin. The spin quantum number 1/2 has a fixed value which represents the gap between the circulation rate of the core of the vortex and the boundaries of the vortex. The changeable values +1/2 “spin-up” or -1/2 “spin-down” indicate the direction of the magnetic dipole of the vortex. The relation between spin and Planck constant is discussed and the origin h/4pi angular momentum units are revealed.
The motion of neutral, polarizable atoms (also called neutral particles in this work) in the field of the Bessel beam is considered. It is shown in the numerical way that the Bessel rings, i.e., the regions of high energy concentration, can trap particles of positive polarizability (atoms in red-detuned beams). This trapping occurs only in the plane perpendicular to the wave propagation, and the motion along the beam is unrestricted. When the beam is superposed with the plane wave of the same frequency propagating in the same direction, the particles are guided along helices, fixed in space. The shape of these helices depends on the parameters characterizing the electromagnetic fields but not on the initial state of guided particles. Depending on the vorticity of the Bessel beam, these helices can be made left- or right-handed. In the special case of zero vorticity, the helices are degenerated to the true, three-dimensional rings, which can serve as three-dimensional traps. The emerging structure of potential valleys can be applied to parallel guidance or capture several independent atoms, each in its own trap.
We study, both classically and quantum mechanically, the problem of a neutral particle with a spin angular momentum S, mass m, and magnetic moment μ, moving in one dimension in an inhomogeneous magnetic field given by B=B0ẑ+B⊥′xŷ. This problem serves for us as a toy model to study the trapping of neutral particles. We identify K≡[S2(B⊥′)2/μmB03], which is the ratio between the precessional frequency of the particle and its vibrational frequency, as the relevant parameter of the problem. Classically, we find that when μ is antiparallel to B, the particle is trapped provided that K<0.5. We also find that viscous friction, be it translational or precessional, destabilizes the system. Quantum mechanically, we study the problem of a spin S=ℏ/2 particle in the same field. Treating K as a small parameter for the perturbation from the adiabatic Hamiltonian, we find that the lifetime Tesc of the particle in its trapped ground state is Tesc=(Tvib/2π)(1/8πK)exp(2/K), where Tvib=2πmB0/μ(B⊥′)2 is the classical period of the particle when placed in the adiabatic potential V=μ|B|.
Recently, we developed a method for calculating the lifetime of a particle inside a magnetic trap with respect to spin flips, as a first step in our efforts to understand the quantum mechanics of magnetic traps. The one-dimensional toy model that was used in this study was physically unrealistic because the magnetic field was not curl free. Here, we study, both classically and quantum mechanically, the problem of a neutral particle with spin S, mass m, and magnetic moment μ, moving in three dimensions in an inhomogeneous magnetic field corresponding to traps of the Ioffe–Pritchard “clover-leaf” and “baseball” type. Defining by ωp, ωz, and ωr the precessional, the axial, and the lateral vibrational frequencies, respectively, of the particle in the adiabatic potential Veff =μ|B|, we find classically the region in the (ωr/ωp)−(ωz/ωp) plane where the particle is trapped. Quantum mechanically, we study the problem of a spin-one particle in the same field. Treating ωr/ωp and ωz/ωp as small parameters for the perturbation from the adiabatic Hamiltonian, we derive a closed-form expression for the transition rate 1/Tesc of the particle from its trapped ground state. In the extreme cases, the expression for 1/Tesc reduces to 4πωr exp(−2ωp/ωr) for ωp≫ωr≫ωz, to 82πωpωi exp(−2ωp/ωi) for ωp≫ωr=ωz≡ωi and to π/2 ωr(ωz/ωp)3/2exp(−2ωp/ωz) for ωp≫ωz≫ωr.
A thorough unified treatment is given of the quantum-mechanical operators and wave functions for a molecular system (composed of
N moving charged particles) in static uniform electric and magnetic fields
E and
B. The treatment is rigorous within the nonrelativistic approximation. The system may either be neutral or charged. The fields may have arbitrary intensities and orientations. Close correspondence is maintained between the classical and quantum-mechanical treatments. The wave functions are expressed both in the time-independent energy representation and in time-dependent wave packets. Three types of momentum play important roles. For single-particle systems they are the canonical momentum
P, the mechanical momentum $\mathit{\ensuremath{\Pi}}=\mathit{P}\ensuremath{-}(\frac{e}{c})\mathit{A}=M\stackrel{\ifmmode \dot{}\else \.{}\fi{}}{R}$, and the pseudomomentum $\mathcal{K}=\mathit{\ensuremath{\Pi}}\ensuremath{-}(\frac{e}{c})\mathit{R}\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}\mathit{B}\ensuremath{-}e\mathit{E}t$. The pseudomomentum is a constant of the motion. Except in the absence of magnetic fields, not all of the components of either $\mathit{\ensuremath{\Pi}}$ or
K commute. This complicates the quantum-mechanical formalism. The components of the pseudomomentum have simple classical interpretations, and in quantum mechanics they are related to the operator which performs a boost to a reference frame moving with constant velocity
v. In this moving frame, the electric field intensity is ${\mathit{E}}^{\ensuremath{'}}=\mathit{E}+(\frac{\mathit{v}}{c})\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}\mathit{B}$. Thus, in a frame moving with the drift velocity ${\mathit{v}}_{d}=(\frac{c}{{B}^{2}})\mathit{E}\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}\mathit{B}$, the components of the electric field intensity perpendicular to
B vanish. In this paper, the velocity boost operators are used to show the relationships between wave functions expressed in reference frames moving with repsect to each other. The dynamics of the
N-particle systems are simplified by making the Power-Zienau-Woolley transformation (which reduces as a special case to a unitary transformation used by Lamb) and by using center-of-mass and internal coordinates. Generalizing previous works, it is shown how the pseudomomentum is involved in separating these degrees of freedom for
N particles in both
E and
B. For neutral molecules, the Schr\"odinger equation is "pseudoseparated" and the internal degrees of freedom are coupled to the center of mass motion only by the "motional Stark Effect," which involves the constant of motion
K. For ionic systems, only one component of the center of mass is coupled to the internal motion. Quantitative estimates of the weak center-of-mass coupling are made for both neutral and ionic
n=1 and
n=2 quantum states of two-body systems by perturbation expansions in powers of the field strengths. In the usual nonrigorous treatments of systems in magnetic fields, no distinction is made between $\mathit{\ensuremath{\Pi}}$ and
K and both are approximated by $M\stackrel{\ifmmode \dot{}\else \.{}\fi{}}{R}$, where
M is the mass of the molecule and
R is taken to be the classical orbital position of a single particle having the same mass and charge. This is an excellent approximation for ground-state molecules and ions in weak fields. However, the resulting errors can be much larger if the system is in either intense fields or high-lying states (e.g., Rydberg levels). These are the conditions under which the rigorous formalism should be most useful. The determination of the wave functions and energy levels for many-particle ionic systems is complicated due to the coupling with the center of mass. The suggestion is made that it might be useful to boost the reference frame so that it moves with the velocity $\stackrel{\ifmmode \dot{}\else \.{}\fi{}}{R}$ of a single classical particle. The Schr\"odinger equation in this frame could serve as a more suitable basis for perturbative or variational treatments.