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Journal of Physics A Mathematical and General

Transition probabilities for the three-level Landau-Zener model

C. E. Carroll, F. T. Hioe

Published Aug 1, 1986• 79 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A three-level model is used for an atom in which two transitions are driven by two laser beams, having constant amplitudes and detunings that are proportional to the time. Assuming that any two of the levels are unoccupied at large negative times, the authors obtain simple formulae for the occupation probabilities at large positive times. Previous results and the early calculation of Landau and Zerner (1932) are special cases of these general formulae.

DOI
10.1088/0305-4470/19/11/014

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A three-level model is used for an atom in which two transitions are driven by two laser beams, having constant amplitudes and detunings that are proportional to the time. Assuming that any two of the levels are unoccupied at large negative times, the authors obtain simple formulae for the occupation probabilities at large positive times. Previous results and the early calculation of Landau and Zerner (1932) are special cases of these general formulae.
For an atom or molecule in which two transitions are driven by laser beams, a three-state model is used. Transitions among the three states are caused only by the oscillating electric fields of the laser beams. The amplitudes and detunings of the two laser beams, which are various functions of the time, appear in the Schrödinger equation for the atom or molecule. In certain cases, the Schrödinger equation can be solved analytically, to find transition probabilities and the probability of no transition. This is done by using Clausen’s special function, or by assuming that the sum of the two detunings is zero at all times. Conditions for complete transfer of the population from the ground state to an excited state are obtained from the analytic solutions.
We use a three-state model for an atom or molecule in which two transitions are simultaneously driven by the oscillating electric fields of two laser beams. The amplitudes and detunings of the applied oscillating fields vary during the optical pulse, which can cause transitions from one state to another. For some special cases not previously known, the transition probabilities and probabilities of no transition are obtained analytically. We give conditions for complete transfer of the atomic population from one state to another, and for complete return to the initial state.
We investigate the Landau–Zener (LZ) like dynamics of decaying two- and three-level systems with decay rates Γ 1 and Γ 2 for levels with minimum and maximum spin projection. Non-adiabatic and adiabatic transition probabilities are calculated from diabatic and adiabatic bases for two- and three-level systems. We extend the familiar two-level model of atoms with decay from the excited state out of the system into the hierarchy of three-level models which can be solved analytically or computationally in a non-perturbative manner. Exact analytical solutions are obtained within the framework of an extended form of the proposed procedure which enables to take into account all possible initial moments rather than large negative time t 0 = − ∞ as in standard LZ problems. We elucidate the applications of our results from a unified theoretical basis that numerically analyzes the dynamics of a system as probed by experiments.
During the adiabatic time evolution levels crossing violates the adiabaticity and makes transitions between levels possible. Conventionally only two energy levels cross simultaneously. The transition probabilities for this case were found by Landau and Zener. However, the multilevel crossing happens systematically rather than occasionally if the Hamiltonian possesses a special symmetry. The simplest physical realization of the multilevel crossing are the Zeeman multiplet in a varying magnetic field and an electron in one-dimensional chain driven by the time-dependent electric field. We present asymptotics of the transition amplitudes for these kinds of the multilevel crossing. They are based on an exact solution for a model n-state, time-dependent Schrödinger equation.