Calculating Eigenenergies of Photon in Cavity Hamiltonian

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Discussion Overview

The discussion focuses on the calculation of eigenenergies within the context of the Jaynes-Cummings Hamiltonian, which describes the interaction between photons and a two-level atomic system. Participants explore the mathematical derivation of eigenenergies, the treatment of Hamiltonian terms, and the implications of commuting operators in this framework.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation
  • Mathematical reasoning
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants question why the term \(\hbar \omega(n+\frac{1}{2})\) can be added to the result of the determinant when calculating eigenenergies.
  • There is uncertainty regarding the neglect of the first term of the Hamiltonian in the determinant calculation.
  • One participant notes that the Hamiltonian is known as the Jaynes-Cummings Hamiltonian and describes the interaction between the field and the atom.
  • Another participant emphasizes the need to diagonalize the Hamiltonian in the subspaces defined by degenerate states, specifically those involving the number of photons and the atomic states.
  • Concerns are raised about the standard approach to calculating energy eigenvalues, particularly regarding the determinant of the Hamiltonian minus an eigenvalue.
  • One participant mentions the spectral theorem and its relevance to the diagonalization of commuting matrices, suggesting that eigenvalues of the sum of commuting matrices can be treated as sums of their individual eigenvalues.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the treatment of Hamiltonian terms and the calculation of eigenenergies. There is no consensus on the specific mathematical steps or assumptions involved in the derivation.

Contextual Notes

There are unresolved questions about the assumptions made in the calculations, particularly regarding the treatment of commuting operators and the implications of the spectral theorem. The discussion highlights the complexity of the mathematical framework involved.

Abigale
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Hey,
in my notes I have calculated the Eigenenergie of the Hamiltonian:
[itex] <br /> H= \hbar \omega (n+\frac{1}{2}) \cdot<br /> <br /> \begin{pmatrix}<br /> 1 & 0 \\<br /> 0 & 1 <br /> \end{pmatrix}<br /> <br /> +\hbar<br /> <br /> \begin{pmatrix}<br /> \frac{\Omega_0 -\omega_0}{2} & g \sqrt{n+1} \\<br /> g \sqrt{n+1}& -\frac{\Omega_0 -\omega_0}{2} <br /> \end{pmatrix}<br /> [/itex]

We have just calculated:
$$det\begin{pmatrix}
\frac{\Omega_0 -\omega_0}{2} - \lambda & g \sqrt{n+1} \\
g \sqrt{n+1}& -\frac{\Omega_0 -\omega_0}{2} - \lambda
\end{pmatrix} => \lambda = \pm \sqrt{
\frac{\Omega_0 -\omega_0}{4}+g^2(n+1)
}$$

And then we said the Eigenenergie is:

[itex]E=\hbar \omega(n+\frac{1}{2}) \pm \hbar\sqrt{<br /> \frac{\Omega_0 -\omega_0}{4}+g^2(n+1)<br /> }[/itex]

Why can I add [itex]\hbar \omega(n+\frac{1}{2})[/itex] to the result of the determinant?

Or why is it possible to neglect the first term of the hamiltonian in the determinant?






I also know that:

[itex][N,H]=[a^\dagger a + c_{1}^\dagger c_1 , H] =0[/itex]


a is a photon annihilation operator and c a fermionic annihilation operator.

The Hamiltonian in an other notation is [itex]H = \hbar \omega a^\dagger a + \frac{1}{2} \hbar \Omega(c^\dagger _1 c_1 -c^\dagger _0 c_0) +\hbar g(a c^\dagger _1 c _0 + a^\dagger c^\dagger _0 c_1)[/itex].

I regard interaction of photons and fermions. So the states looks like [itex]|01>|n>[/itex] or [itex]|10>|n+1>[/itex] where n is the number of photons.

Thank you very much!
 
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Abigale said:
in my notes I have calculated the Eigenenergie of the Hamiltonian:
[itex] <br /> H= \hbar \omega (n+\frac{1}{2}) \cdot<br /> <br /> \begin{pmatrix}<br /> 1 & 0 \\<br /> 0 & 1 <br /> \end{pmatrix}<br /> <br /> +\hbar<br /> <br /> \begin{pmatrix}<br /> \frac{\Omega_0 -\omega_0}{2} & g \sqrt{n+1} \\<br /> g \sqrt{n+1}& -\frac{\Omega_0 -\omega_0}{2} <br /> \end{pmatrix}<br /> [/itex]

We have just calculated:
$$det\begin{pmatrix}
\frac{\Omega_0 -\omega_0}{2} - \lambda & g \sqrt{n+1} \\
g \sqrt{n+1}& -\frac{\Omega_0 -\omega_0}{2} - \lambda
\end{pmatrix} => \lambda = \pm \sqrt{
\frac{\Omega_0 -\omega_0}{4}+g^2(n+1)
}$$

And then we said the Eigenenergie is:

[itex]E=\hbar \omega(n+\frac{1}{2}) \pm \hbar\sqrt{<br /> \frac{\Omega_0 -\omega_0}{4}+g^2(n+1)<br /> }[/itex]

Why can I add [itex]\hbar \omega(n+\frac{1}{2})[/itex] to the result of the determinant?

Or why is it possible to neglect the first term of the hamiltonian in the determinant?
That's not what's happening.

What is ##\lambda##? Is it like E - <something>? :confused:

The method for finding the energy eigenvalues ##E## is to find where the matrix ##H - E## is singular, i.e.,
$$
\det(H - E) ~=~ 0 ~.
$$ So... work out this determinant explicitly and solve the resulting quadratic equation... :wink:
 
Abigale said:
Why can I add [itex]\hbar \omega(n+\frac{1}{2})[/itex] to the result of the determinant?

Or why is it possible to neglect the first term of the hamiltonian in the determinant?

That Hamiltonian is known as the Jaynes-Cummings Hamiltonian. The first term describes the field and the atom (or any other two-level system). The notation is somewhat non-standard though, but that does not matter. The second term describes the light matter coupling. The eigenstates of the first term are pretty easy to solve and of the type |n,e> or |n,g>. n is the number of photons, e and g mean that the atom is in the excited or ground state. Now the states of interest are those of the kind |n,e> and |n+1,g>. You either have n+1 photons and the atom is in the ground state or one photon gets absorbed and the atom is in the excited state. As these two states are degenerate for every n, it is sufficient to diagonalize the Jaynes-Cummings Hamiltonian (the second part about light matter interaction) in the subspaces given by these degenerate states, which gives you the result you get for every possible n.
 
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How to callculate the energy?

But I don't understand why the energy can be callculated by:[itex]E=\hbar \omega(n+\frac{1}{2}) + \lambda[/itex]with[itex] <br /> det \lbrace <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> \begin{pmatrix} <br /> \frac{\Omega_0 -\omega_0}{2}-\lambda & g \sqrt{n+1} \\ <br /> g \sqrt{n+1}& -\frac{\Omega_0 -\omega_0}{2} -\lambda<br /> \end{pmatrix}<br /> \rbrace<br /> =0[/itex].
Normally the Energy is callculated by:

[itex]\det(H-\lambda \begin{pmatrix} <br /> 1 & 0 \\ <br /> 0 & 1 <br /> \end{pmatrix}) =0[/itex]And normally: [itex]\det (A+B) \neq \det (A) +\det (B)[/itex]
 
Remember that the operators/matrices are commuting. The spectral theorem helps here as commuting normal matrices can be diagonalized simultaneously. One can show that each eigenvalue of the sum of two commuting positive matrices is a sum of the eigenvalue of the two summands.

If you want the "hard" math, you can find details in the standard book "Matrix Analysis" by Horn and Johnson. In the edition I have, you find the necessary details on page 51.
 
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