Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Physical Review A

Finite-time deviations from exponential decay in the case of spontaneous emission from a two-level hydrogenic atom

JOSIP SEKE, Wolfgang N. Herfort

Published Aug 1, 1989• 35 citations
Publisher

Abstract

For the first time to the authors' knowledge a mathematically rigorous method is used for treating finite-time deviations from the exponential decay in the case of spontaneous Lyman-\ensuremath{\alpha} transitions in a two-level hydrogenic atom. First, in the so-called Weisskopf-Wigner model (where the rotating-wave approximation is implied) finite-time deviations with a rigorous validity range, based on accurate error estimations, are derived. Second, in order to obtain the frequency shift (Lamb shift), counter-rotating terms are taken into account by using a projection-operator method developed a decade ago by one of the present authors [J. Seke, Phys. Rev. A 21, 2156 (1980)]. By means of this method, equations of motion for dipole-moment expectation values are derived without employing the usual Born approximation. These equations are solved by using the method of the Laplace transform and its inverse. Again finite-time deviations from the exponential decay of the dipole-moment expectation values with a definite validity range are obtained. Finally, it should be emphasized that all the results presented in this paper contain accurate error estimates which are absolutely necessary in a rigorous mathematical method.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.40.1926

Related papers

Deviations from exponential decay in the case of spontaneous emission from a two-level atom

JOSIP SEKE, Wolfgang N. Herfort

A mathematically rigorous treatment of the Weisskopf-Wigner model of atomic spontaneous emission is presented. For the first time to the authors' knowledge, it is shown that in the correct asymptotic treatment with a cutoff frequency at which the dipole approximation breaks down, the main contribution to the long-time deviation from the exponential decay is of the order of 1/(t ${\mathrm{ln}}^{2}$t). This contradicts the results of previous authors who have obtained a long-time behavior of the order of 1/${t}^{2}$ by nonrigorous mathematical treatment of the same model in the dipole approximation. However, we will show that the result 1/${t}^{2}$ can still be obtained if the retardation effects are taken into account, i.e., if no dipole approximation is made.

Physical Review A•Jul 1, 1988•49 citations

Finite-time deviations from exponential decay for the Lyman-α radiation in the Dirac hydrogen atom without ignoring virtual transitions

JOSIP SEKE

By using a self-consistent projection-operator method, developed recently by the author, finite-time deviations from exponential decay for the Lyman-\ensuremath{\alpha} radiation in the Dirac hydrogen atom are calculated without neglecting retardation and virtual-transition effects.

Physical Review A•Jan 1, 1992•12 citations

Non-Markovian treatment of the spontaneous 2P1/2to 1S1/2transition in the Dirac hydrogen atom

JOSIP SEKE

For the first time to the author's knowledge, a rigorous mathematical treatment of the spontaneous 2P 1/2 to 1S 1/2 transition, going beyond the usual Markov approximation, is presented in the case of the Dirac hydrogen atom. The relevant transition matrix elements of the Dirac Hamiltonian are calculated without the dipole approximation. Further, a non-Markovian equation of motion for the non-decay probability of the unstable 2P 1/2 2 state is derived, by using a self-consistent projection-operator method recently developed by the present author. By a rigorous analytical treatment of the non-Markovian equation, deviations from exponential decay for asymptotic times are obtained. Moreover, by careful error estimations deviations from exponential decay for finite times with definite validity range are also calculated. Finally, for the radiative lineshape a new quasi-Lorentzian distribution is obtained.

Journal of Physics A Mathematical and General•Feb 7, 1992•14 citations

Spontaneous decay of an unstable atomic state in non-relativistic QED: a complete treatment including gauge invariance, renormalization and non-Markovian time behaviour

JOSIP SEKE

It is shown that the application of a self-consistent projection-operator method, developed recently by the author, makes possible a complete and gauge-invariant treatment of spontaneously decaying atomic state. All the shortcomings of the Weisskopf-Wigner gauge-dependent method (Markov approximation and the neglect of virtual transition, retardation and electron-spin effects) are removed. After deriving a gauge-invariant equation of motion for the decaying state, a new physical interaction picture (in which the unobservable interaction of the free electron with the vacuum radiation field is eliminated) is introduced. In this new interaction picture, apart from a natural solution of the renormalization problem, explicit finite analytic results for the whole non-Markovian Lyman- alpha spontaneous decay are derived. Furthermore, a quasi-Lorentzian expression for the radiative line shape containing the correct (complete) finite non-relativistic frequency shift, stemming from the Lamb shifts of both levels 1S and 2P, is calculated.

Journal of Physics A Mathematical and General•Jan 21, 1994•3 citations

DEVIATIONS FROM SPONTANEOUS LYMAN-α EXPONENTIAL DECAY REVISITED: A RIGOROUS TREATMENT WITHIN A TWO-LEVEL NONRELATIVISTIC MODEL

JOSIP SEKE, A. V. SOLDATOV, Nikolay N. Bogolubov

A recent paper by Facchi and Pascazio, in which the advantage of numerical evaluations of deviations from exponential decay was pointed out, makes a revisitation of the subject necessary. All the more, since the above-mentioned authors have not estimated the error bounds (being absolutely necessary in any calculation) for their results. On the contrary, the accuracy of all results presented in this paper is proved by error estimates. Moreover, for the first time, the power of the simple iteration method in calculating both the exponential and non-exponential time evolution of an unstable atomic state is demonstrated.

Modern Physics Letters B•Jul 10, 1999•4 citations

Simple and consistent spontaneous emission rate derivation with a physically justified frequency cutoff

Wojciech Górecki

The exact determination of the spontaneous emission coefficient for an excited atom is an extremely complex problem so various approximations are typically used. One of the most popular ones is the use of the dipole approximation of a two-level atom followed by rotating wave approximation (RWA). However, such an approach applied to the entire frequency spectrum results in the appearance of divergent integrals in the derivations, which are not treated rigorously in typical student textbooks. It is known from the literature that the introduction of cutoff for frequencies, justified by the finite size of the atom, may solve this problem. For didactic purposes, in this paper, we introduce a mathematically simple cutoff, which allows for a straightforward yet mathematically consistent rederivation of the Weisskopf-Wigner spontaneous emission rate (up to the small correction) within RWA. Importantly, this cutoff is not a mathematical trick to make calculations easier but is related to a real feature of the physical system, the neglect of which leads to inconsistency. More precise analysis demand going beyond RWA and dipole approximation.

arXiv:2303.02212•Mar 3, 2023•0 citations
For the first time to the authors' knowledge a mathematically rigorous method is used for treating finite-time deviations from the exponential decay in the case of spontaneous Lyman-\ensuremath{\alpha} transitions in a two-level hydrogenic atom. First, in the so-called Weisskopf-Wigner model (where the rotating-wave approximation is implied) finite-time deviations with a rigorous validity range, based on accurate error estimations, are derived. Second, in order to obtain the frequency shift (Lamb shift), counter-rotating terms are taken into account by using a projection-operator method developed a decade ago by one of the present authors [J. Seke, Phys. Rev. A 21, 2156 (1980)]. By means of this method, equations of motion for dipole-moment expectation values are derived without employing the usual Born approximation. These equations are solved by using the method of the Laplace transform and its inverse. Again finite-time deviations from the exponential decay of the dipole-moment expectation values with a definite validity range are obtained. Finally, it should be emphasized that all the results presented in this paper contain accurate error estimates which are absolutely necessary in a rigorous mathematical method.
A mathematically rigorous treatment of the Weisskopf-Wigner model of atomic spontaneous emission is presented. For the first time to the authors' knowledge, it is shown that in the correct asymptotic treatment with a cutoff frequency at which the dipole approximation breaks down, the main contribution to the long-time deviation from the exponential decay is of the order of 1/(t ln2{\mathrm{ln}}^{2}ln2t). This contradicts the results of previous authors who have obtained a long-time behavior of the order of 1/t2{t}^{2}t2 by nonrigorous mathematical treatment of the same model in the dipole approximation. However, we will show that the result 1/t2{t}^{2}t2 can still be obtained if the retardation effects are taken into account, i.e., if no dipole approximation is made.
For the first time to the author's knowledge, a rigorous mathematical treatment of the spontaneous 2P 1/2 to 1S 1/2 transition, going beyond the usual Markov approximation, is presented in the case of the Dirac hydrogen atom. The relevant transition matrix elements of the Dirac Hamiltonian are calculated without the dipole approximation. Further, a non-Markovian equation of motion for the non-decay probability of the unstable 2P 1/2 2 state is derived, by using a self-consistent projection-operator method recently developed by the present author. By a rigorous analytical treatment of the non-Markovian equation, deviations from exponential decay for asymptotic times are obtained. Moreover, by careful error estimations deviations from exponential decay for finite times with definite validity range are also calculated. Finally, for the radiative lineshape a new quasi-Lorentzian distribution is obtained.
It is shown that the application of a self-consistent projection-operator method, developed recently by the author, makes possible a complete and gauge-invariant treatment of spontaneously decaying atomic state. All the shortcomings of the Weisskopf-Wigner gauge-dependent method (Markov approximation and the neglect of virtual transition, retardation and electron-spin effects) are removed. After deriving a gauge-invariant equation of motion for the decaying state, a new physical interaction picture (in which the unobservable interaction of the free electron with the vacuum radiation field is eliminated) is introduced. In this new interaction picture, apart from a natural solution of the renormalization problem, explicit finite analytic results for the whole non-Markovian Lyman- alpha spontaneous decay are derived. Furthermore, a quasi-Lorentzian expression for the radiative line shape containing the correct (complete) finite non-relativistic frequency shift, stemming from the Lamb shifts of both levels 1S and 2P, is calculated.
A recent paper by Facchi and Pascazio, in which the advantage of numerical evaluations of deviations from exponential decay was pointed out, makes a revisitation of the subject necessary. All the more, since the above-mentioned authors have not estimated the error bounds (being absolutely necessary in any calculation) for their results. On the contrary, the accuracy of all results presented in this paper is proved by error estimates. Moreover, for the first time, the power of the simple iteration method in calculating both the exponential and non-exponential time evolution of an unstable atomic state is demonstrated.
The exact determination of the spontaneous emission coefficient for an excited atom is an extremely complex problem so various approximations are typically used. One of the most popular ones is the use of the dipole approximation of a two-level atom followed by rotating wave approximation (RWA). However, such an approach applied to the entire frequency spectrum results in the appearance of divergent integrals in the derivations, which are not treated rigorously in typical student textbooks. It is known from the literature that the introduction of cutoff for frequencies, justified by the finite size of the atom, may solve this problem. For didactic purposes, in this paper, we introduce a mathematically simple cutoff, which allows for a straightforward yet mathematically consistent rederivation of the Weisskopf-Wigner spontaneous emission rate (up to the small correction) within RWA. Importantly, this cutoff is not a mathematical trick to make calculations easier but is related to a real feature of the physical system, the neglect of which leads to inconsistency. More precise analysis demand going beyond RWA and dipole approximation.