PH503: Year 2016

Problem Set-III
Instructor: Subhradip Ghosh

1. Consider a particle in an infinite one-dimensional potential well extended between l/2

and l/2
V (x) = ,
= 0,

|x| >

l
2

l
l
<x<
2
2

Show whether electric dipole transitions from first two excited states to the ground state
are possible.
2. Obtain the selection rules for orbital angular momentum quantum number l for electric
dipole transitions in case of a hydrogenic atom.
3. In discussions on intensities of spectral transitions, an useful quantity is oscillator strength
fka =

2mka
|~rka |2
3h

where a is the lower energy state. Show that the oscillator strengths obey the following
sum rule, known as Thomas-Reiche-Kuhn sum rule
X

fka = 1

the sum is over all states including the continuum.

4. For a given initial level a of hydrogen atom, show that
X
b

ba

ba = 2 2 r0 c

b,Eb <Ea

where ba is the integrated absorption cross section, in the electric dipole approximation,
P
the sum b being over all states (including continuum states) with Eb > Ea , and
ba is the
P
corresponding cross section for stimulated emission, the sum b,Eb <Ea is over the states


with Eb < Ea . The quantity r0 is classical electron radius given as r0 = e2 / 40 mc2
5. An electronic transition in ions of 12 C leads to photon emission near 500 nm. The ions
are in thermal equilibrium at a temperature KT = 20 eV, and at a density n = 1024 m3 .
Calculate the broadened widths due to pressure broadening and Doppler broadening using
order-of-magnitude estimates of needed parameters.
6. The cross section for electron impact excitation of a certain atomic level A is A = 1.4
1020 cm2 . The level has a lifetime = 2 108 sec, and decays 10 percent of the time to
level B and 90 percent of time to level C. Calculate the equilibrium population per cm3 in
level A when an electron beam of 5mA/cm2 is passed through a vapor of these atoms at
a pressure of 0.05 Torr and at a temperature of 300K.