NATURAL SCIENCES TRIPOS Part II

Friday 3rd June 2005 9.00 to 11.00

EXPERIMENTAL AND THEORETICAL PHYSICS (2)
Attempt the whole of Section A, and two questions from Section B.
Answers from Section A should be tied up in a single bundle, with
the letter A written clearly on the cover sheet. Answers to each
question from Section B should be tied up separately, with the
number of the question written clearly on the cover sheet.
Section A carries approximately a quarter of the total marks. The
approximate number of marks allocated to each part of a question
in Section B is indicated in the right margin. This paper contains 3
sides, and is accompanied by a book giving values of constants and
containing mathematical formulae which you may quote without
proof.
STATIONERY REQUIREMENTS
Script paper
Metric graph paper
Rough work pad
Blue coversheets
Tags
SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS
Mathematical formulae handbook
Approved calculators allowed
You may not start to read the questions
printed on the subsequent pages of this
question paper until instructed that you
may do so by the Invigilator.
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2
SECTION A
Answers should be concise, and relevant formulae may be assumed
without proof. All questions carry an equal amount of credit.
1 Find the possible spectroscopic terms
2S+1
L
J
for a conguration of two
d-electrons.
2 Describe two pieces of experimental evidence that suggest the spin of an
electron has a value of
1
2
.
3 For bonding and anti-bonding orbitals in the hydrogen molecular ion H
+
2
,
sketch (a) the wavefunctions along the molecular axis and (b) the energy of the
orbitals as a function of distance between the protons.
4 Explain qualitatively why applying a small electric eld across a quantum
well gives rise to a shift in energy levels proportional to the square of the electric
eld.
SECTION B
B5 Write brief notes on three of the following: [22]
(a) the Dirac equation and its physical consequences;
(b) the Aharonov-Bohm eect;
(c) Rabi oscillations;
(d) the anomalous Zeeman eect.
B6 Show that an upper bound on the energy, E
0
, of the ground state of a
quantum mechanical system with Hamiltonian

H is given by
E =
|

H |
|
E
0
[5]
where is a trial wavefunction. How is this equation applied in the variational
method for estimating eigenenergies? [3]
A particle of mass m moves in one dimension in the potential
V (x) = (x 0)
V (x) = x (x > 0)
where is a positive constant. Sketch the potential and the wavefunctions of the
particle in the ground state and rst excited state. [3]
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3
Given a trial wavefunction
(x) = 0 (x 0)
(x) = x exp (kx) (x > 0)
show that the expectation value of the energy of the particle is given by
E =
h
2
k
2
2m
+
3
2k
[7]
and obtain an estimate of the energy of the ground state. [4]
[You may use the result

0
x
n
exp (ax) dx =
n!
a
n+1
.]
B7 Explain what is meant by the Einstein coecients, B
12
, B
21
and A
21
for
radiative transitions between an upper level (2) and a lower level (1) in an atom. [4]
Given that the energy density per unit of black-body radiation is
u() =
h
3

2
c
3
1
exp(h/k
B
T) 1
show that the Einstein coecients satisfy the following equations
g
1
B
12
= g
2
B
21
, g
2
A
21
= g
1
B
12
h
3
12

2
c
3
where g
1
and g
2
are the degeneracies of levels 1 and 2 and the dierence in energy
between the levels is h
12
. [6]
An atom has three levels with energies E
2
> E
1
> E
0
. Levels 2 and 1 have
degeneracies g
2
and g
1
respectively. Spontaneous and stimulated transitions can
take place between level 2 and level 1 with coecients A
21
, B
21
and B
12
.
Spontaneous transitions also take place between levels 1 and 0 with coecient A
10
.
A quantity of these atoms is subjected to a background radiation density u() and
is also optically pumped from level 0 to level 2 at a rate R per atom.
Write down rate equations for the numbers of atoms per unit volume, N
1
and N
2
, in levels 1 and 2. [4]
Show that in equilibrium
N
2
N
1
=
A
10
+
g
2
g
1
B
21
u(
12
)
A
21
+B
21
u(
12
)
and nd an expression for N = N
2

g
2
g
1
N
1
.
[5]
Comment on the eect of (a) the spontaneous emission coecients and (b)
the level degeneracy, on the use of this atomic system for a laser. [3]
END OF PAPER
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