The compact analytical complete solutions recently obtained for the two-state Landau-Zener-Stueckelberg problems are reviewed and explained. The theory covers both Landau-Zener (LZ) type in which the two diabatic potential curves cross with the same sign of slopes and the nonadiabatic tunneling (NT) type in which the potentials cross with different signs of slopes. The theory is applicable virtually in the whole range of energy and coupling strength and is convenient for practical use. The new theory for time-dependent nonadiabatic transition can be formulated from the time-independent theory of the LZ-type. The utilizability of the theory to various multi-channel problems and also to multi-dimensional problems is demonstrated and explained. The intriguing phenomenon of complete reflection which appears in the NT-case is explicitly utilized to propose a new type of molecular switching and to control molecular processes such as molecular photodissociation. Also proposed is a new way of controlling molecular processes by using time-dependent external fields. Finally, a trial to formulate a unified analytical theory to cover both Landau-Zener-Stueckelberg and Rosen-Zener-Demkov types of nonadiabatic transitions is briefly touched upon.
It is pointed out that there exists an interesting strong and weak duality in the Landau-Zener-Stueckelberg potential curve crossing. A reliable perturbation theory can thus be formulated in the both limits of weak and strong interactions. It is shown that main characteristics of the potential crossing phenomena such as the Landau-Zener formula including its numerical coefficient are well-described by simple (time-independent) perturbation theory without referring to Stokes phenomena. A kink-like topological object appears in the ``magnetic'' picture, which is responsible for the absence of the coupling constant in the prefactor of the Landau-Zener formula. It is also shown that quantum coherence in a double well potential is generally suppressed by the effect of potential curve crossing, which is analogous to the effect of Ohmic dissipation on quantum coherence.
We reexamine the accuracy of the Landau–Zener approximation, whose analytic simplicity has made it often cited and applied over the past 70years in describing nonadiabatic transitions. We find that this approximation may be in substantial disagreement with exact numerical results for a model physical system and a wide range of coupling strengths and relative velocities. We conclude that the Landau–Zener approximation should be used with caution for quantitative estimates of nonadiabatic transition probabilities or cross sections.
We study the Landau-Zener-Stueckelberg (LZS) effect for a two-level system with a time-dependent nonlinear bias field (the sweep function)
W(t). Our main concern is to investigate the influence of the nonlinearity of
W(t) on the probability P to remain in the initial state. The dimensionless quantity $\ensuremath{\varepsilon}=\ensuremath{\pi}{\ensuremath{\Delta}}^{2}/(2\ensuremath{\Elzxh}v)$ depends on the coupling $\ensuremath{\Delta}$ of both levels and on the sweep rate
v. For fast sweep rates, i.e., \ensuremath{\varepsilon}\ensuremath{\ll}1, and monotonic, analytic sweep functions linearizable in the vicinity of the resonance we find the transition probability $1\ensuremath{-}P\ensuremath{\cong}\ensuremath{\varepsilon}(1+a),$ where
a>0 is the correction to the LSZ result due to the nonlinearity of the sweep. Further increase of the sweep rate with nonlinearity fixed brings the system into the nonlinear-sweep regime characterized by $1\ensuremath{-}P\ensuremath{\cong}{\ensuremath{\varepsilon}}^{\ensuremath{\gamma}}$ with \ensuremath{\gamma}\ensuremath{\ne}1, depending on the type of sweep function. In the case of slow sweep rates, i.e., \ensuremath{\varepsilon}\ensuremath{\gg}1, an interesting interference phenomenon occurs. For analytic
W(t) the probability ${P=P}_{0}{e}^{\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\eta}}$ is determined by the singularities of $\sqrt{{\ensuremath{\Delta}}^{2}{+W}^{2}(t)}$ in the upper complex plane of t. If
W(t) is close to linear, there is only one singularity, which leads to the LZS result ${P=e}^{\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\varepsilon}}$ with important corrections to the exponent due to nonlinearity. However, for, e.g., $W(t)\ensuremath{\propto}{t}^{3}$ there is a pair of singularities in the upper complex plane. Interference of their contributions leads to oscillations of the prefactor
P0 that depends on the sweep rate through \ensuremath{\varepsilon} and turns to zero at some \ensuremath{\varepsilon}. Measurements of the oscillation period and of the exponential factor would allow one to determine \ensuremath{\Delta}, independently.
The Landau-Zener-Stueckelberg (LZS) effect in a model system of interacting tunneling particles is studied numerically and analytically. Each of N tunneling particles interacts with each of the others with the same coupling J. This problem maps onto that of the LZS effect for a large spin
S=N/2. The mean-field limit $\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{N}\ensuremath{\infty}$ corresponds to the classical limit $\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{S}\ensuremath{\infty}$ for the effective spin. It is shown that the ferromagnetic coupling
J>0 tends to suppress the LZS transitions. For $\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{N}\ensuremath{\infty}$ there is a critical value of J above which the staying probability P does not go to zero in the slow sweep limit, unlike the standard LZS effect. For
J<0 LZS transitions are boosted and
P=0 for a set of finite values of the sweep rate for $\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{N}\ensuremath{\infty}.$ Various limiting cases such as strong and weak interaction, slow and fast sweep are considered analytically. It is shown that the mean-field approach works well for arbitrary N if the interaction J is weak.
We present an asymptotic approach towards the standard Landau-Zener problem based on two linearly independent elementary waves of constant amplitude but time-dependent phase. The two contributions to this phase are quadratic and logarithmic in time and result from the linear chirp of the energies and the lowest order correction in the coupling between the two levels in the long-time limit. Indeed, our solutions subjected to initial conditions at a large but finite time in the past, are valid for large negative and large positive times. Due to their asymptotic nature they are not valid in the neighborhood of the moment when the levels cross. However, as the starting point of the dynamics moves further into the past, the time interval of the break-down of our asymptotic solutions shrinks and vanishes in the limit of the infinite past which corresponds to the standard Landau-Zener situation. Our approach explains not only every feature of the exact solution but yields deeper insights into the origin of the effects. In particular, it (i) brings to light the subtleties involved in the asymptotic limit leading to the standard expressions for the Landau-Zener transition amplitudes, (ii) identifies the logarithmic phase as the origin of the exponential transition probability amplitude, and (iii) reveals the structure of the lowest order corrections to the Landau-Zener result when the starting point is not in the infinite past.