Abstract We are now equipped with the necessary mathematical background to analyse NMR in quantum-mechanical terms. In this chapter, the analysis is restricted to standard NMR, essentially the free-induction decay following a single r.f. pulse. The first section deals with the case when the only interaction experienced by the spins is the Zeeman interaction with an external field. It illustrates the way in which quantum mechanics is used in practice and its main result is a quantum justification of the equation of motion of the magnetization derived in Chapter 1 by a purely classical approach. The second section is a simplified description of chemical shifts and indirect interactions and of their influence on the NMR spectra. For such a simple problem, it will already become apparent that the formal machinery developed in the previous chapters is far superior to the classical or naive quantum methods, as regards the ease and the simplicity with which quantitative results are obtained.
We show that there is excellent quantitative agreement between the usual semiclassical predictions for nuclear magnetic resonance experiments (quantized spins interacting with a classical radio frequency magnetic field, including radiation damping), and the predictions of a fully quantized description of the same experiment. We also propose a pictorial description of the relevant dynamical quantum states, which helps to lead the intuition towards the same conclusion. Our model ignores spin relaxation, and simulates the equivalent damping resistor of the sample circuit by a very long piece of lossless coaxial cable. The classical rf field (pulses and free induction decay) is described quantum mechanically by means of Glauber’s “coherent” or “quasiclassical” states.
The idea of the photon has stirred the imaginations of physicists ever since 1905 when Einstein originally proposed the use of light quanta to explain the photoelectric effect. This concept is formalized in the quantum theory of radiation, which has had unfailing success in explaining the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with matter, seemingly limited only by the ability of physicists to perform the indicated calculations. Nevertheless, it has its conceptual problems—various infinities and frequent misinterpretations. Consequently an increasing number of workers are asking, “to what extent is the quantized field really necessary and useful?” In fact the experimental results of the photoelectric effect were explained by G. Wentzel in 1927 without the quantum theory of radiation. Similarly most electro-optic phenomena such as stimulated emission, reaction of the emitted field on the emitting atom, resonance fluorescence, and so on, do not require the quantization of the field for their explanation. As we will see, these processes can all be quantitatively explained and physically understood in terms of the semiclassical theory of the matter–field interaction in which the electric field is treated classically while the atoms obey the laws of quantum mechanics. The quantized field is fundamentally required for accurate descriptions of certain processes involving fluctuations in the electromagnetic field: for example, spontaneous emission, the Lamb shift, the anomalous magnetic moment of the electron, and certain aspects of blackbody radiation. (The Compton effect also fits here, but see later under references 8b and c.) Here we will outline how the photon concept originated and developed, where it is not required and is often misused, and finally where it plays an essential role in the understanding of physical phenomena. In our discussion we will attempt to give a logically consistent definition of the word “photon”—a statement far more necessary than one might think, for so many contradictory uses exist of this elusive beast. In particular consider the original coining of the word by G. N. Lewis: “[because it appears to spend] only a minute fraction of its existence as a carrier of radiant energy, while the rest of the time it remains an important structural element within the atom…, I therefore take the liberty of proposing for this hypothetical new atom which is not light but plays an essential part in every process of radiation, the name photon!” (our exclamation point). Clearly the present usage of the word is very different.
Despite its successes, quantum mechanics (QM) has remained mysterious to all who have encountered it. Starting with Bohr and progressing into the present, the departure from intuitive, physical reality has widened. The connection between QM and reality is more than just a “philosophical” issue. It reveals that QM is not a correct or complete theory of the physical world and that inescapable internal inconsistencies and incongruities arise when attempts are made to treat it as physical as opposed to a purely mathematical “tool.” Some of these issues are discussed in a review by F. Laloe [Am. J. Phys. 69, 655 (2001)]. In an attempt to provide some physical insight into atomic problems and starting with the same essential physics as Bohr of e moving in the Coulombic field of the proton and the wave equation as modified by Schrodinger, a classical approach is explored that yields a remarkably accurate model and provides insight into physics on the atomic level. The proverbial view, deeply seated in the wave-particle duality notion, that there is no large-scale physical counterpart to the nature of the electron may not be correct. Physical laws and intuition may be restored when dealing with the wave equation and quantummechanical problems. Specifically, a theory of classical quantum mechanics (CQM) is derived from first principles that successfully applies physical laws on all scales. Rather than using the postulated Schrodinger boundary condition “Ψ → 0 as r → ∞,” which leads to a purely mathematical model of the electron, the constraint is based on experimental observation. Using Maxwell’s equations, the classical wave equation is solved with the constraint that the bound (n = 1)state electron cannot radiate energy. By further application of Maxwell’s equations to electromagnetic and gravitational fields at particle production, the Schwarzschild metric is derived from the classical wave equation, which modifies general relativity to include conservation of spacetime in addition to momentum and matter/energy. The result gives a natural relationship among Maxwell’s equations, special relativity, and general relativity. CQM holds over a scale of spacetime of 85 orders of magnitude — it correctly predicts the nature of the universe from the scale of the quarks to that of the cosmos. A review is given by G. Landvogt [Internat. J. Hydrogen Energy 28, 1155 (2003)].
Abstract In the past decade, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) has been actively used to study the basic principles of quantum computers. It is assumed that quantum correlations play a significant role in their performance. They exist at both low and high temperatures. At the same time, the time correlation functions of nuclear spin systems of solids determine the observed signals in traditional NMR implementations. The separation of such signals into quantum and classical components has not previously been carried out and will be performed in this study for the most important of the correlational functions observed in magnetic resonance: the free induction decay (FID).
This is the first in a series of two articles, the second of which provides an exact electro-magnetic field description of photon emission, absorption, and radiation pattern. Photon energy exchanges are analyzed and shown to be the triggered, regenerative response of a non-local eigenstate electron. This first article presents a model-based, hidden variable analysis of quantum theory that provides the statistical nature of wave functions. The analysis uses the equations of classical electro-magnetism and conservation of energy while modeling an eigenstate electron as a nonlocal entity. Essential to the analysis are physical properties that were discovered and analyzed only after the historical interpretation of quantum mechanics was established: electron non-locality and the standing electro-magnetic energy that accompanies and encompasses an active, electrically small volume. The standing energy produces a driving radiation reaction force that, under certain circumstances, is many orders of magnitude larger than currently accepted values. These properties provide a sufficient basis for the Schrödinger equation as a descriptor of non-relativistic eigenstate electrons in or near equilibrium. The uncertainty principle follows, as does the exclusion principle. The analysis leads to atomic stability and causality in the sense that the status of physical phenomena at any instant specifies the status an instant later.