Degenerate energy states

If //is 00 (very large) or T is zero, tire system is in the lowest possible and a non-degenerate energy state and U = -N xH. If eitiier // or (3 is zero, then U= 0, corresponding to an equal number of spins up and down. There is a synnnetry between the positive and negative values of Pp//, but negative p values do not correspond to thennodynamic equilibrium states. The heat capacity is... 

It is noted that if ei = e2 the anti-symmetric wave function vanishes, ipa = 0. Two identical particles with half-spin can hence not be in the same non-degenerate energy state. This conclusion reflects Pauli s principle. Particles with integral spin are not subject to the exclusion principle (ips 0) and two or more particles may occur in the same energy state. 

The principle of tire unattainability of absolute zero in no way limits one s ingenuity in trying to obtain lower and lower thennodynamic temperatures. The third law, in its statistical interpretation, essentially asserts that the ground quantum level of a system is ultimately non-degenerate, that some energy difference As must exist between states, so that at equilibrium at 0 K the system is certainly in that non-degenerate ground state with zero entropy. However, the As may be very small and temperatures of the order of As/Zr (where k is the Boltzmaim constant, the gas constant per molecule) may be obtainable. 

The constant of integration is zero at zero temperature all the modes go to the unique non-degenerate ground state corresponding to the zero point energy. For this state S log(g) = log(l) = 0, a confmnation of the Third Law of Thennodynamics for the photon gas. 

Figure 20, The potential surface near the degeneracy point of a degenerate E state that distorts along two coordinates and Q. The parameter is the stabilization energy of the ground state (the depth of the moat ), [Adapted from [70]].

Now, we examine the effect of vibronic interactions on the two adiabatic potential energy surfaces of nonlinear molecules that belong to a degenerate electronic state, so-called static Jahn-Teller effect. 

In the absence of an external magnetic field, the 21 + 1 energy states of a nucleus are of identical energy (they are said to be degenerate) and, therefore, are equally populated at thermal equilibrium in any assemblage of such nuclei. In the presence of an applied steady field Ho, these 21 + states will assume different energy... 

The solutions for the unperturbed Hamilton operator from a complete set (since Ho is hermitian) which can be chosen to be orthonormal, and A is a (variable) parameter determining the strength of the perturbation. At present we will only consider cases where the perturbation is time-independent, and the reference wave function is non-degenerate. To keep the notation simple, we will furthermore only consider the lowest energy state. The perturbed Schrodinger equation is... 

Since aj always is positive or zero, and Ei — Eq always is positive or zero ( o is by definition the lowest energy), this completes the proof. Furthermore, in order for the equal sign to hold, all =0 since , o - q is non-zero (neglecting degenerate ground states). This in turns means that ao = ], owing to the nonnalization of, and consequently the wave function is the exact solution. 

References 29-33 introduce the notion of coherence spectroscopy in the context of two-pathway excitation coherent control. Within the energy domain, two-pathway approach to coherent control [25, 34—36], a material system is simultaneously subjected to two laser fields of equal energy and controllable relative phase, to produce a degenerate continuum state in which the relative phase of the laser fields is imprinted. The probability of the continuum state to evolve into a given product, labeled S, is readily shown (vide infra) to vary sinusoidally with the relative phase of the two laser fields < ),... 

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