Zeeman
Zeeman
Zeeman
ZEEMAN SPLITTING
Abstract
When a magnetic eld is applied to atoms, some of the atomic
energy levels may be changed and some levels which had identical
energies may be split into levels with dierent energies. This was
discovered by Zeeman in 1896 and is called the Zeeman Eect.
In this experiment you will measure the energy level splitting and
polarizations due to the Zeeman Eect and will apply the theory for
the Zeeman eect to calculate the Bohr magneton. You will also study
and use a Fabry-Perot Etalon.
You may perform this experiment before you discuss the full theory
in your Quantum Mechanics class. For that reason, this description is
more detailed than the descriptions of most other experiments in the
Advanced Laboratory.
Theory
In 1896 Zeeman discovered a broadening eect in the yellow lines of sodium
when the light source was placed in a strong magnetic eld. Soon afterward,
Lorentz predicted from classical electromagnetic theory that each line should
split into 3 components.
We now understand the splitting of lines by a magnetic eld in terms
of the Dirac theory for the electron. If an atom has an eigenstate with the
angular momenta and spins of all the electrons giving vector totals:
( angular momenta) has magnitude L =
( + 1) h
s (s + 1) h
(We use a notation with primes indicating totals for all electrons and lower
case referring to quantum numbers.)
Then that state is split by the magnetic eld B which causes an additional
potential energy term:
E = B
where is the eective magnetic moment of the state.
E = i g
=
e
e
Li + i gs
Si
2me
2me
e
g L + gs S B.
2me
Here Li and Si are the angular momentum and spin of the ith electron. The
charge and mass of an electron are designated by e and me respectively.
The factors g and gs from the Dirac and QED Theory are:
g = 1 exactly and gs = 2.00232 .
Often the 2.00232 is approximated by 2 and the equation is written
E =
where B =
e
h
2me
B
L + 2S B
h
mj = (j ), (j + 1) . . . (j 1), (j ).
B
L + 2S
h
B
[g mg h] = g mj B
and E = g mj B B.
The g is called the Land g factor. We would expect g = 1 for a simple
e
orbital angular momentum but the intrinsic spin causes:
g =1+
j (j + 1) + s (s + 1) ( + 1)
2j (j + 1)
The energy of the photons emitted then depends upon both the splitting of the initial state and the splitting of the nal state. Further, there
are restrictions upon the changes which can occur in the various quantum
numbers.
Selection Rules
The most likely radiation to be emitted is that due to electric dipole transitions of single electrons.
h
an ei(En Em )t/ Vmn
where Vmn is the matrix element depending upon the electric potential
V , and the wave functions of the initial and nal states:
Vmn =
m V (x, t)n
If
(i) the perturbation is small,
(ii) the electric eld has only one frequency f with electric eld E,
(iii) the wave length of the electromagnetic eld = c/f is large compared with the diameter of the atom,
(iv) the energy dierence (Em En ) = hf ,
(v) most of the atoms are in one state with energy En , then the transition rate can be shown to be:
d
1
(am am ) = 2 mn E 2
dt
h mn
mn = m e xn dx .
Hence an electric eld with an electric vector in the x direction
will cause transitions from state n to state m only if the integral is
non zero. Remember that if m = n, then the states are orthogonal
and so:
m n = 0 .
The integral we are interested in now is dierent because it includes the coordinate x:
m xn =?
but is also often zero. The non-zero conditions depend upon the
quantum numbers of the initial and nal states and can be derived
by integrating the initial and nal Associated Legendre functions
of cos and the Associated Laguerre functions of the radius.
The transitions occur only if all of the following are true:
(i) = 1 for the electron making the transition. This means that
the parity of the electron wavefunction must change.
Polarization of Radiation
The polarization of the emitted light depends upon the change mj . Assume
the magnetic eld B is along the z axis. Here are three explanations of the
same phenomena:
Explanation 1
The same theory which gave the m restrictions also makes predictions
for the electric eld.
(a) If mj = 0, then the alternating E is parallel to the magnetic eld.
This light is then linearly polarized and mostly emitted perpendicularly
to the magnetic eld. An observer in the x direction would see E z,
an observer in the z axis would see no radiation.
(b) If mj = 1, then the alternating E is perpendicular to the magnetic
eld (z axis).
An observer on the x axis will see E
Explanation 2
This can be partly understood by remembering that photons have a spin
angular momentum of one unit of h and that angular momentum must be
conserved.
(a) If mj = 0, then no angular momentum about the z axis can be carried
o by a photon and so an observer on the z axis will see no light.
An observer on the x axis will see photons due to mj = 0 and mj =
1. The linearly polarized light is equivalent to a superposition of
equal amplitudes of oppositely circularly polarized light.
(b) If mj = +1, then the angular momentum about the z axis must be
conserved by the photon taking o with an s = 1. Hence an observer
on the z axis will see 100% right hand circularly polarized light.
Similarly with mj = 1, the photons will have an s = +1 and an
observer on the z axis will see 100% left hand circularly polarized light.
Explanation 3
From G.R. Fowles Introduction to Modern Optics:
Coherent States Consider a system that is in the process of changing
from one eigenstate 1 to another 2 . During the transition the state function is given by a linear combination of the two state functions involved,
namely
= c1 1 eiE1 t/ + c2 2 eiE2 t/
(1.1)
Here c1 and c2 are parameters whose variation with time is slow in comparison
with that of the exponential factors. A state of the above type is known as
a coherent state. One essential dierence between a coherent state and a
stationary state is that the energy of a coherent state is not well dened,
whereas that of a stationary state is.
The probability distribution of the coherent state represented by Eq. 1.1
is given by the following expression:
= c1 c1 1 1 + c2 c2 2 2 + c1 c2 1 2 eit + c2 c1 2 1 eit
where
=
E1 E2
h
(1.2)
(1.3)
or, equivalently
E1 E2
h
The above result shows that the probability density of a coherent state
undergoes a sinusoidal oscillation with time. The frequency of this oscillation
is precisely that given by the Bohr frequency condition.
The quantum-mechanical description of a radiating atom may be stated
as follows. During the change from one quantum state to another, the probability distribution of the electron becomes coherent and oscillates sinusoidally.
This sinusoidal oscillation is accompanied by an oscillating electromagnetic
eld that constitutes the radiation.
f=
Fig. 1.1 Probability density for the rst excited state (n = 2) of the hydrogen
atom.
Figure 1.2 is a diagram showing the time variation of the charge distribution for the hydrogen atom when it is in the coherent state represented by the
combination 1s + 2p(m = 0). It is seen that the centroid of the charge moves
back and forth along the z axis. The associated electromagnetic eld has a
directional distribution that is the same as that of a simple dipole antenna
lying along the z axis. Thus, the radiation is maximum in the xy plane and
zero along the z axis. The radiation eld, in this case, is linearly polarized
with its plane of polarization parallel to the dipole axis.
10
The Spectra
We will study the 546.1 nm green line of mercury. Each atom has 80 electrons
and in the ground state these have the distribution:
n = 1 shell lled
2
n = 2 shell lled
8
n = 3 shell lled
18
n = 4 shell lled
32
n = 5 shell
= 0 subshell
2
= 1 subshell
6
= 2 subshell
10
= 3 subshell empty
= 4 subshell empty
n = 6 shell
= 0 subshell
2
11
The excited states have one electron lifted from the n=6, =0 subshell
and are shown in the following diagram from Herzberg.
12
The levels are labelled by the s , , and j of the total atom. The full
shells and subshells have zero contributions and so the net s , and j are due
to one electron left in the n = 6, = 0 subshell and to the excited electron.
Remember the traditional spectroscopic notation:
(superscript = 2s + 1)
(S, P , D, F etc. for L = 0, 1, 2, 3, etc.)
(Subscript = j )
s =1
= 0 j = 1 g = 2 3 values of mj
6p 3 P2
s =1
= 1 j = 2 g = 3/2 5 values of mj
13
B B
hc
(2.1)
2 1.5 1 0.5
0.5
initial mj
+1
+1 1
nal mj
+1
+2
+1 2 1
mj
+1
+1
+1
+1
S1
g=2
1
+2
+1
3P
2
g=3/2
1
2
14
+1
0
1 1 1
mj'
1.5
(3.1)
When parallel rays of angle are brought to a focus by the use of a lens of
focal length f and Eq. 3.1 is satised, bright rings will appear in the focal
plane. Their radius given by:
r = f tan
f .
(3.2)
Thus the interference rings formed in the focal plane have radii:
rn = f n
(3.3)
2t
n
cos n = n0 cos n = n0 1 2 sin2
(3.4)
2
n
2
or n =
2(n0 n)
.
n0
(3.5)
(3.7)
Combining Eq. 3.7 with Eqs. 3.5 and 3.3, we obtain for the radii of the rings
rp =
2f 2
(p 1) + .
n0
(3.8)
We note (a) that the dierence between the squares of the radii of adjacent
rings is a constant
2f 2
2
2
rp+1 rp =
(3.9)
n0
and (b) that the fraction of an order can be found by extrapolating to
2
rp = 0 (according to the slope 2f 2 /n0 )
Now, if there are two components of a spectral line with wavelengths
1 and 2 , very close to one another, they will have fractional orders at the
center 1 and 2 :
1
2t
n1 (1) = 2t1 n1 (1)
1
2t
=
n1 (2) = 2t2 n1 (2)
2
=
where n1 (1), n1 (2) is the order of the rst ring. Hence, if the rings do not
overlap by a whole order (n1 (1) = n1 (2)), the dierence in wave numbers
between the two components is simply
1 2 =
2t
(3.10)
x+
2t
(3.11)
From Eq. 3.10 we see that we do not need to know t much more accurately
than 1 2 . The fractional order 1 , 2 , . . ., can hardly be measured to 1/1000;
therefore knowledge of t to this accuracy of 1/1000 is amply adequate; this
can be easily achieved with a micrometer or a microscope.
The resolution of the Fabry-Perot etalon can be obtained from Eq. 3.1:
=
1
n
=
2t cos
16
and by dierentiation
=
1
n sin
n
2t cos
cos2
(3.12)
= n
2t
(3.14)
2f 2
(p + )
n0
(3.15)
(3.16)
no
2
Rp + (1 ) .
2f 2 m2
(3.17)
2
Rp =
and
p=
17
5
4
3
2
1
1-
Rp2
18
Apparatus
The equipment is similar to that described in Melissinos, page 320.
Discharge tube. The tube contains a low pressure of the mercury isotope Hg198 and 3 mTorr of Argon buer gas. The spectral lines are
sharp because:
(a) the nuclear spin I of Hg198 is zero and so there is no hyperne
structure.
(b) All of the atoms have the same mass (unlike those of natural
mercury) and so all the atoms will give the same spectra.
(c) The discharge is maintained by RF and the tube is cool so the
Doppler broadening is less than in an arc discharge.
The tube is expensive and shockmounted. Do not attempt to move the
tube.
Tesla Coil. The Tesla Coil should be used only for ionizing the Hg so
that the RF can maintain the discharge. This is done by moving the
tesla coil near the glass Hg tube and then turning the tesla coil on for
a moment. The tesla coil is a high voltage transformer and the tip is
at high voltage so do not place the tesla coil near the Hall probe or the
Hall probe circuitry may be damaged. Do not touch the tip.
Tuned RF Oscillator. The oscillator has a frequency of about 100 MHz.
It is used to drive the Hg discharge tube. If the discharge cannot be
maintained or occupies less than 2/3 of the tube, ask the instructor to
check the oscillator tuning.
Magnet. The magnet supply is stabilized. The control must be turned
to zero (anti-clockwise) before the supply is turned on or o. The
magnet is mounted on a ball bearing turntable so that it may be rotated
to view the discharge tube via a hole in one pole face.
19
Hall Probe. The Hall probe is fragile and should be handled with care.
The probe is used to measure the magnetic eld. The RF oscillator
should be turned o during these measurements.
Lens. The lens focuses the light onto the slit of the constant deviation
spectrometer. A linear polarizing or circularly polarizing lter may be
placed before or after the lens.
Constant
Deviation
Spectrometer
198
Hg
Discharge
between
poles
field
lens
slit
filter
Fabry-Perot
Etalon
Telescope
Camera
20
Procedure
1. Understand the theory and check the g factors for 3 S1 and 3 P2 levels.
2. Read the section on apparatus and note the precautions. Read the
section on the Fabry-Perot etalon.
3. Start the Mercury Light Source. Be sure to wear the eye protection
goggles. The tube emits a considerable amount of UV.
(a) Turn on the radio frequency (RF) coil power supply.
(b) Bring the tesla coil near the discharge tube. Turn the tesla coil
on for a few seconds and then o.
(c) The tube of low pressure Hg198 should glow a whitish blue. If the
glow is weak, ask the instructor to adjust the tuning of the RF
system.
4. Align the source and Spectrometer.
21
(a) The magnet has two viewing conditions: perpendicular and parallel to the magnetic eld. The conguration parallel to the magnetic eld requires a rotation of the magnet so that light from the
source passes through the axial hole in the pole piece. Be careful
with the oscillator connecting wires.
(b) Adjust the lens position so that the source is imaged onto the
collimator slit.
(c) Gently rotate the magnet and check that light emitted from the
source continues to be focussed on the slit.
(d) Adjust the collimator slit width such that the entire source image
just passes through the slit.
(e) Mount the viewing telescope. At this point, the Faby-Perot etalon
is not yet in the optical path.
(f) After focussing the telescope, rotate the constant deviation dial to
center the green spectral line.(This is the Mercury 546.1 nm green
line. In the vicinity of this line, a yellow line should be observed.)
5. Check of the Fabry-Perot Etalon.
(a) Install the Fabry-Perot Etalon on the spectrometer platform. (Consult with the instructor for doing this.)
(b) With the magnet o, look through the telescope for the ring pattern. The pattern should be sharp. There are two adjustments
on the Fabry-Perot platform: a screw underneath the platform to
make vertical adjustments, and a horizontal screw on the side to
adjust the left-right positioning of the etalon. You will have to
adjust these screws to center the Fabry-Perot image.
6. Setting up the magnet
(a) Turn on the magnet and increase the current until the split lines
in dierent orders no longer overlap.
(b) Monitor and record the magnet voltage with a multimeter since
the ammeter is not accurate enough to reproduce settings.
7. Test the polarization of the spectra
22
23
with 3.0 A in the magnet, 0.12 sec exposure and aperture f/11.
The focus is set to innity.
(g) Make sure to measure the magnetic eld with the Hall probe before
the end of the session. The instructor will help you remove the
discharge tube.
9. Measurements
(a) Measure the radii of each of the split rings using the Cross Hairs
option of the software. You can also Zoom the image. It is
of course best to measure the diameter directly as opposed to
estimating the location of the center and measuring the radius.
Any scale can be used. (Why?)
(b) You should now have a set of radii for each of the 9 values of
(2, 1.5, . . . + 1.5, +2) (see page 14). In each set, label the radii
with p = 1, 2, 3 . . .
(c) Tabulate the squares of the radii for all 9 sets.
10. Analyze the data
(a) Plot the ring number p(y)(as measured from the center out) against
2
Rp (x) for the set of rings with = 0 (no eld) as on page 18 and
t to a straight line.
(b) Measure the intercept (1 ) on the p axis. The quantity
fractional order for that set of rings and = 0.
is the
(c) Repeat a) and b) for the other 8 sets with nonzero (eld on).
(d) Plot the fractional order (y) obtained for each of the 9 sets against
the value of (x). Because the g values are 3/2 and 2, the splitting
and are equally spaced.
24
(e) Fit a straight line through the various fractional orders . The
slope of this line is proportional to the product of the electron
magnetic moment times the magnetic eld. For example, the expression for the wave numbers for the two outer rings of the nine
is: (See Eq. 2.1)
B B
mj = +1, transition
= 0 2
hc
B B
mj = 1, transition
= 0 + 2
hc
(f) Derive an expression for B B in terms of the measured slope and
the etalon spacing t.
(g) Now use the results from above to calculate the ratio (e/me ).
e
2B
=
me
h
References
[1] R. Eisberg and R. Resnick, Quantum Physics of Atoms, Molecules,
Solids, Nuclei, and Particles, 2nd Ed., Wiley, 1985.
[2] R. Fowles, Introduction to Modern Optics, 2nd Ed., Dover, 1975.
[3] A.C. Melissinos, Experiments in Modern Physics, Academic Press, 1966.
[4] A.C. Melissinos and J. Napolitano, Experiments in Modern Physics, 2nd
Ed., Academic Press, 2003.
26