Radiative transition reference needed

[DivGradCurl]

Hello folks,

I'm reading quite a bit of laser physics material, and I'd like to understand the conventions of the states and transitions. I'm an undergraduate, so my background in quantum mechanics is at the very basic level. I would like to know the meaning of transitions such as the following:

(1)

and

(2)

... and what is the convention behind

(3) and (4)?

Any nice references? Thank you very much!

(the latex in the website is not working right, so I attached an image file with the symbols)

 

[Valerie Park]

The states and transitions you have shown in the image are typically referred to as "electronic transitions". In general, when talking about electronic transitions, the lower energy state is denoted by a lower case letter, while the higher energy state is denoted by an upper case letter. For example, (1) would be referred to as the "a->B" transition, while (2) would be referred to as the "d->C" transition. The convention behind (3) and (4) would be similar; (3) would be referred to as the "A->d" transition, while (4) would be referred to as the "C->b" transition. For more information on electronic transitions, you can check out the Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_transition.

 

[sir-pinski]

Hello! Thank you for your question. It seems like you are interested in understanding the conventions behind radiative transitions in laser physics. Radiative transitions refer to the emission or absorption of electromagnetic radiation by an atom or molecule. In laser physics, these transitions are used to produce coherent and intense beams of light.

In terms of the notation you mentioned, (1) and (2) refer to the initial and final energy states of the atom or molecule involved in the transition. The convention behind (3) and (4) is to represent the energy levels in terms of the principal quantum number n, where n = 1 corresponds to the ground state. The notation in (3) and (4) also includes the angular momentum quantum number l, which specifies the orbital angular momentum of the electron in the atom or molecule. The notation (3) and (4) also includes the spin quantum number s, which specifies the intrinsic spin of the electron.

As for references, some good introductory resources on laser physics and quantum mechanics include "Introduction to Quantum Mechanics" by David J. Griffiths and "Laser Physics" by Peter W. Milonni and Joseph H. Eberly. These books will provide you with a solid understanding of the principles behind radiative transitions and their notation. Additionally, you may also find helpful information on websites such as HyperPhysics and Khan Academy.

I hope this helps! Best of luck in your studies.