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arXiv:1811.04105 · Opuscula Mathematica

Spontaneous decay of level from spectral theory point of view

Eduard Ianovich

Published Jan 1, 2021• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

In quantum field theory it is believed that the spontaneous decay of excited atomic or molecular level is due to the interaction with continuum of field modes. Besides, the atom makes a transition from upper level to lower one so that the probability to find the atom in the excited state tends to zero. In this paper it will be shown that the mathematical model in single-photon approximation may predict another behavior of this probability generally. Namely, the probability to find the atom in the excited state may tend to a nonzero constant so that the atom is not in the pure state finally. This effect is due to that the spectrum of the complete Hamiltonian is not purely absolutely continuous and has a discrete level outside the continuous part. Namely, we state that in the corresponding invariant subspace, determining the time evolution, the spectrum of the complete Hamiltonian when the field is considered in three dimensions may be not purely absolutely continuous and may have an eigenvalue. The appearance of eigenvalue has a threshold character. If the field is considered in two dimensions the spectrum always has an eigenvalue and the decay is absent.

DOI
10.7494/opmath.2021.41.6.849

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In quantum field theory it is believed that the spontaneous decay of excited atomic or molecular level is due to the interaction with continuum of field modes. Besides, the atom makes a transition from upper level to lower one so that the probability to find the atom in the excited state tends to zero. In this paper it will be shown that the mathematical model in single-photon approximation may predict another behavior of this probability generally. Namely, the probability to find the atom in the excited state may tend to a nonzero constant so that the atom is not in the pure state finally. This effect is due to that the spectrum of the complete Hamiltonian is not purely absolutely continuous and has a discrete level outside the continuous part. Namely, we state that in the corresponding invariant subspace, determining the time evolution, the spectrum of the complete Hamiltonian when the field is considered in three dimensions may be not purely absolutely continuous and may have an eigenvalue. The appearance of eigenvalue has a threshold character. If the field is considered in two dimensions the spectrum always has an eigenvalue and the decay is absent.
A critical examination of the theory of resonance radiation has been carried through, employing the mathematical technique of Laplace and Stieltjes transforms. Particular attention has been devoted to the question of the temporal behavior of the excited state. With no restrictions on the interaction between atom and radiation field other than that it be real, and that processes of sufficiently high frequency contribute only negligible effects, one can prove that the probability amplitude of the excited state cannot decay according to the general law ${\ensuremath{\Sigma}}_{\ensuremath{\mu},\ensuremath{\nu}}{C}_{\ensuremath{\mu}\ensuremath{\nu}}{t}^{{\ensuremath{\lambda}}_{\ensuremath{\mu}}}{e}^{\ensuremath{-}{\ensuremath{\beta}}_{\ensuremath{\nu}}t},$ where the ${\ensuremath{\lambda}}_{\ensuremath{\mu}}$ and ${\ensuremath{\beta}}_{\ensuremath{\nu}}$ are complex constants lying in the right half-plane and the ${C}_{\ensuremath{\mu}\ensuremath{\nu}}$ are arbitrary complex coefficients. The deviation from the law just cited can be termed a straggling phenomenon since exact analysis shows that the probability amplitude, for sufficiently long times, is greater than that defined according to the radioactive decay law.Rigorous analysis of the source of this apparently anomalous behavior reveals the following explanation. Although the probability amplitude of the excited state is, strictly speaking, a functional of the interaction between the transition current in the atom and the photon states of the electromagnetic field, the essential features are determined principally by those states lying near the resonance frequency. Three elementary observations are immediately apparent. First, a particularly tractable analytical approximation for the interaction can be made such that the value of the actual interaction is reproduced at the resonance frequency and such that the behavior for high and low frequency photon states is at least qualitatively correct. Exact solutions in closed form can be obtained for this interaction. Second, in terms of the preceding representation it is possible to show that, associated with the transition between two atomic states, one is presented with a concomitant picture of a damped oscillation of charge describable in purely classical terms. Third, this classical motion can be interpreted as forming a source function for a continuous stochastic process in terms of which one finally derives the representation of the probability amplitude of the excited state. The straggling phenomenon previously cited is therefore that associated with all diffusion processes. The consideration of the exact interaction leads to more involved diffusion phenomena but does not in any case permit a radioactive decay law.
In this paper we investigate the dynamics of a model for a three-level atom in interaction with a radiation field. The exact solution to the spontaneous-emission problem is derived using methods developed earlier by the authors, and expressions are obtained for the probabilities of the atom’s being in the first or second excited states at any time t. For the special case that the strengths of the coupling between each of the excited states and the λth mode of the field are proportional, detailed conclusions can be drawn concerning the effects of such factors as system size, coupling function, and level splitting on the temporal evolution of the system. The evolution of excited quantum systems having one versus two modes of decay to the ground state is also compared, and similarities and differences in the temporal behavior are noted. Finally the relevance of the theory presented in this paper to experimental problems in radiation chemistry and physics is indicated in our concluding remarks.
Previous work of the authors on a three-level quantum system is extended to allow the radiation field in interaction with the system to have a continuous spectrum of possible frequencies. The limiting procedure involved in the passage from discrete to continuous spectra is complicated by the need to express sums over different discrete spectra as integrals with well-behaved limits. Exact expressions are found, for a spontaneous emission problem, for the time evolution of the probabilities that the system be in (each) one of its three states and representative calculations of these probabilities are presented. The emergence of irreversible behavior upon constructing the thermodynamic limit of the problem is plainly seen and this demonstration permits for the first time a discussion of the relative effectiveness of competing decay channels in three-level quantum systems without imposing any ad hoc assumptions (such as exponential decay). Rather, the actual form of the decay emerges as a consequence of the structure and parameters of the Hamiltonian defining the model, and hence one can examine the variety of circumstances in which the evolution can reasonably be described as exponential. The results obtained should be of great use in clarifying certain outstanding conceptual problems in radiation physics, particularly those which deal with the universality of exponential decay in three- (and two-) level quantum systems in interaction with a radiation field and the conditions under which nonexponential or even nonergodic behavior can emerge in such dissipative quantum systems.
The spontaneous emission spectrum for a three-level cascade configuration atom in a single mode high-Q cavity coupled to a zero temperature reservoir of continuum external modes is determined from the atom–cavity mode master equation using the quantum regression theorem. Initially the atom is in its upper state and the cavity mode empty of photons. Following Glauber, the spectrum is defined via the response of a detector atom. Spectra are calculated for the detector located inside the cavity (case A), outside the cavity end mirror (case B—end emission), or placed for emission out the side of the cavity (case C). The spectra for case A and case B are found to be essentially the same. In all the cases the predicted lineshapes are free of instrumental effects and only due to cavity decay. Spectra are presented for intermediate and strong coupling regime situations (where both atomic transitions are resonant with the cavity frequency), for cases of non-zero cavity detuning, and for cases where the two atomic transition frequencies differ. The spectral features for cases B(A) and C are qualitatively similar, with six spectral peaks for resonance cases and eight for detuned cases. These general features of the spectra can be understood via the dressed atom model. However, case B and C spectra differ in detail, with the latter exhibiting a deep spectral hole at the cavity frequency due to quantum interference effects.
The nonperturbative theory of the cooperative spontaneous emission from a two level atom trapped in one-dimentional damped nanocavity with a single resonance mode is presented. The time-dependent spectral properties and nonlinear dynamics of a separate photon emission by the micro-molecular-like system "excited atom coupled to a resonance decaying mode" have been analyzed. The investigation has been carried out by solving the Schrödinger equation in the interaction picture with the help of the Green functions method in the Heitler-Ma's form. The formalism was supplemented with the novel algorithm in operating causal singular functions and with fundamentals of the theory of quasi-stationary systems. The proposed theory accounts automatically of both reabsorptions of emitted photon and its simultaneous escaping out of the cavity. Solutions of the wave equation were found without using intermediate virtual states and series expansions. In accordance with the theory of quasi-stationary systems the field of mode decaying exponentially in the empty nanocavity was represented with the Lorenz-shaped packet of stationary photonic states (quasi-modes). The electro-dipolar interaction between the atom and the mode field was adopted to be switched on suddenly. The expressions and plots of emission probabilities spectral densities together with photon emission probability dynamics as functions of time for various ratios Γ/4g of photon escaping rate Γ and coupling constant g are presented. For Γ/4g <1 the transient emission spectrum reveals the presence of two symmetrical side-bands and of the central peak, the latter decaying in time at the rate ∝ Γ/2 so that the final spectrum is a doublet. In this case the photon emission probability is described by decaying oscillations. On the contrary for Γ/4g ≥ 1 the spectrum is a singlet and the emission occurs in exponentially decaying ways.
A formalism for studying spontaneous decay of an excited two-level atom in the presence of dispersing and absorbing dielectric bodies is developed. An integral equation, which is suitable for numerical solution, is derived for the atomic upper-state-probability amplitude. The emission pattern and the power spectrum of the emitted light are expressed in terms of the Green tensor of the dielectric-matter formation, including absorption and dispersion. The theory is applied to the spontaneous decay of an excited atom at the center of a three-layered spherical cavity, with the cavity wall being modeled by a band-gap dielectric of Lorentz type. Both weak and strong coupling are studied, the latter with a special emphasis on cases where the atomic transition is (i) in the normal-dispersion zone near the medium resonance, and (ii) in the anomalous-dispersion zone associated with the band gap. In a single-resonance approximation, conditions of the appearance of Rabi oscillations and closed solutions to the evolution of the atomic state population are derived, which are in good agreement with the exact numerical results.