Time independent perturbation theory

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the principles of time-independent perturbation theory in quantum mechanics, specifically the relationship between the matrix elements of the perturbation operator W and the eigenvalue differences of the unperturbed Hamiltonian H0. It is established that for perturbation theory to be valid, the condition λ << 1 must hold, where λ is a small parameter. The matrix elements of W must be comparable in magnitude to the differences between the eigenvalues of H0, which ensures that perturbative corrections are meaningful. The example provided illustrates the confusion regarding the specific eigenvalue differences relevant to the perturbation analysis.

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H=H0 + lambda * W

lambda << 1 must hold and the matrix elements of W are comparable in magnitude to those of H0.

More precisely, the matrix elements of W are of the same magnitude as the difference between the eigenvalues of H0.

I don't understand what is the meaning of " the matrix elements of W are of the same magnitude as the difference between the eigenvalues of H0".

(the above explanation are obtained from the SChaum's Outlines of Quantum Mechanics)
 
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the matrix elements of W are of the same magnitude as the difference between the eigenvalues of H0".

Let's say the matrix W=[2.2 3.1 4.1; 4.1 5.3 6.0; 7.3 8.2 9.3] (matlab code)

let's say the eigenvalues of H0 are 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

the matrix element 2.2 is roughly the same as the difference of the eigenvalues of 3-1. Am I understanding this correctly?

the matrix elements of W are of the "same magnitude"(don't understand what same magnitude means?) as the difference(difference? difference between which eigenvalues, in my example, there are 9 eigenvalues, which minus which is the difference the author is talking?) between the eigenvalues of H0".
 

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