Quinones, DA and Varcoe, BTH orcid.org/0000-0001-7056-7238 (2018) Semiclassical approach to atomic decoherence by gravitational waves. Journal of Physics B: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics, 51 (2). 025005. ISSN 0953-4075
Abstract
A new heuristic model of interaction of an atomic system with a gravitational wave (GW) is proposed. In it, the GW alters the local electromagnetic field of the atomic nucleus, as perceived by the electron, changing the state of the system. The spectral decomposition of the wave function is calculated, from which the energy is obtained. The results suggest a shift in the difference of the atomic energy levels, which will induce a small detuning to a resonant transition. The detuning increases with the quantum numbers of the levels, making the effect more prominent for Rydberg states. We performed calculations on the Rabi oscillations of atomic transitions, estimating how they would vary as a result of the proposed effect.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2017 IOP Publishing Ltd. This is an author-created, un-copyedited version of an article accepted for publication in Journal of Physics B: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics. The publisher is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version derived from it. The Version of Record is available online at https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6455/aa9eba. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Physics and Astronomy (Leeds) > Theoretical Physics (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number EPSRC EP/M506953/1 EPSRC EP/M013472/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 09 Feb 2018 13:44 |
Last Modified: | 01 Dec 2018 01:39 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | IOP Publishing |
Identification Number: | 10.1088/1361-6455/aa9eba |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:127246 |