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arXiv:quant-ph/0212010 · American Journal of Physics

The hydrogen atom in electric and magnetic fields: Pauli’s 1926 article

Galliano Valent A

Published Jan 10, 2003• 20 citations
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Abstract

The results obtained by Pauli in his 1926 article on the hydrogen atom made essential use of the dynamical so(4) symmetry of the bound states. Pauli used this symmetry to calculate the perturbed energy levels of an hydrogen atom in a uniform electric field (Stark effect) and in uniform electric and magnetic fields. Although the Stark effect in hydrogen has been studied experimentally, Pauli’s results in mixed fields have been studied only for Rydberg states of rubidium atoms in crossed fields and for lithium atoms in parallel fields.

DOI
10.1119/1.1524164

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The results obtained by Pauli, in his 1926 article on the hydrogen atom, made essential use of the dynamical so(4) symmetry of the bound states. Pauli used this symmetry to compute the perturbed energy levels of an hydrogen atom in a uniform electric field (Stark effect) and in uniform electric and magnetic fields. Although the experimental check of the single Stark effect on the hydrogen atom has been studied experimentally, Pauli\'s results in mixed fields have been studied only for Rydberg states of rubidium atoms in crossedfields and lithium atoms in parallel fields.

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The results obtained by Pauli in his 1926 article on the hydrogen atom made essential use of the dynamical so(4) symmetry of the bound states. Pauli used this symmetry to calculate the perturbed energy levels of an hydrogen atom in a uniform electric field (Stark effect) and in uniform electric and magnetic fields. Although the Stark effect in hydrogen has been studied experimentally, Pauli’s results in mixed fields have been studied only for Rydberg states of rubidium atoms in crossed fields and for lithium atoms in parallel fields.
The results obtained by Pauli, in his 1926 article on the hydrogen atom, made essential use of the dynamical so(4) symmetry of the bound states. Pauli used this symmetry to compute the perturbed energy levels of an hydrogen atom in a uniform electric field (Stark effect) and in uniform electric and magnetic fields. Although the experimental check of the single Stark effect on the hydrogen atom has been studied experimentally, Pauli\'s results in mixed fields have been studied only for Rydberg states of rubidium atoms in crossedfields and lithium atoms in parallel fields.
The results of an experimental study of the Rydberg spectrum of rubidium in crossed electric and magnetic fields are reported and compared with theoretical predictions. The present investigations have been conducted in the low-field regime in which the paramagnetic and linear Stark interactions are perturbations to the Coulomb energy. When quantum-defect corrections are negligible, the SO(4) symmetry of the Coulomb interaction organizes the hydrogenic energy spectrum according to the law En{\mathit{E}}_{\mathit{n}}En​,k=-R/n2{\mathit{n}}^{2}n2+\ensuremath{\Elzxh}k(${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\omega}}}_{\mathit{L}}^{2}$+${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\omega}}}_{\mathit{S}}^{2}$)1/2{)}^{1/2})1/2, where k is an integer such that -(n-1)\ensuremath{\le}k\ensuremath{\le}(n-1), and ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\omega}}}_{\mathit{L}}$,${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\omega}}}_{\mathit{S}}$, are, respectively, the Larmor and linear Stark frequencies. The experimental evidence for such a quantization is presented in rubidium Rydberg series using Doppler-free two-photon spectroscopy. The role of quantum defects is incorporated into the theory and experimentally demonstrated.
I have calculated the energy spectrum of a highly excited atom which lies in parallel, static electric and magnetic fields. In parallel fields the Coulomb quantum numbers n and m are still "good" quantum numbers but 1 is not: the calculation is for n = 30, m = 1 atoms.;The eigenvalues were obtained by semi-classical quantisation of first-order classical perturbation theory and have been calculated for a large range of electric and magnetic field strengths. The results are in good agreement with those found from first-order degenerate quantum perturbation theory.;The semi-classical analysis provides a correlation diagram connecting the Stark effect states to those of the diamagnetic effect.
The nonlinear low-field Stark effect in the level n=2 of hydrogen has been investigated. \nThe experiment employed the level crossing technique, measuring the position of the crossings between the Zeeman states: \n2P3/2, mj=-3/2 and 2P1/2, mj=1/2; and \n2P3/2, mj=-3/2 and 2S1/2, mj=1/2; \nas the electric field was varied from 0 to 500 kV/m. \nA beam of atomic hydrogen, produced by thermal dissociation, was subjected to parallel electric and magnetic fields. Lymman –α (Lyα) resonance radiation was generated in an electrodeless microwave discharge lamp. The profile of the Lyα line emitted by the lamp has been investigated experimentally. \nThe level crossings were detected as changes of the Lyα resonance fluorescence intensity observed in a certain direction. The crossing positions were determined from the observed crossing signals of Lorentzian profile by a least squares computer programme. \nThe experimental results for the crossing positions as afuction of the electric field have been compared with theoretical calculations. The theoretical values were obtained by numerical diagonalization of the matrix of the eigenstates |2ℓjFmF> for perturbation by combined electric and magnetic fields. Radiative corrections were included. \nTheoretical values and experimental results agreo within the experimental uncertainties of 2%.
For pt. I see ibid., vol.21, no.21, p.3473-98 (1988). The semiclassical approach based on the secular perturbation method, primarily introduced by Solov'ev (1982) to study the pure diamagnetism of hydrogen in the weak-field limit, is extended to the case where the atom is subjected to electric and magnetic fields both parallel to the 0z direction. The structure of the manifold of states with principal quantum number n is governed by the existence of an approximate constant of motion and the states can be classified into three groups. The semiclassical Bohr-Sommerfeld quantisation rule allows the energy of the states to be calculated. The main properties of the spectra and their evolution when one of the fields increases are analysed. An original comparison between the structure of the pure diamagnetic n multiplet with azimuthal quantum number M not=0 and the structure of the n, M=0 multiplet with parallel fields is proposed.