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Faculty publications – Physics

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ATOM

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Full-Text Articles in Physics

Electric-Field-Induced Relativistic Larmor-Frequency Reduction, P Krekora, Q Su, Rainer Grobe Jul 2002

Electric-Field-Induced Relativistic Larmor-Frequency Reduction, P Krekora, Q Su, Rainer Grobe

Faculty publications – Physics

Using the numerical solution to the time-dependent Dirac equation we show that the effect of relativity on the usual Larmor period for an electron in a magnetic field can be enhanced drastically if a suitably scaled and aligned static electric field is added to the interaction. This electric field does not change the electron's speed but leads to an elliptical spin precession due to relativity. This spin precession is accompanied by a position-dependent spin distribution.


Classical Versus Quantum Dynamics For A Driven Relativistic Oscillator, Rainer Grobe, Qichang Su, P J. Peverly, R E. Wagner Mar 2000

Classical Versus Quantum Dynamics For A Driven Relativistic Oscillator, Rainer Grobe, Qichang Su, P J. Peverly, R E. Wagner

Faculty publications – Physics

We compare the time evolution of the quantum-mechanical spatial probability density obtained by solving the time-dependent Dirac equation with its classical counterpart obtained from the relativistic Liouville equation for the phase-space density in a regime in which the dynamics is essentially relativistic. For a resonantly driven one-dimensional harmonic oscillator, the simplest nontrivial model system to perform this comparison, we find that, despite the nonlinearity induced by relativity, the classical ensemble description matches the quantum evolution remarkably well.