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<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|1913 model of abrupt transitions of quantum systems}}<br />
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{{Quantum book backlink|Quantum dynamics and evolution}}<br />
A '''quantum jump''' is the abrupt [[Physics:Atomic electron transition|transition]] of a quantum system ([[Physics:Atom|atom]], [[Physics:Molecule|molecule]], [[Physics:Atomic nucleus|atomic nucleus]]) from one [[Physics:Quantum state|quantum state]] to another, from one [[Physics:Energy level|energy level]] to another. When the system absorbs energy, there is a transition to a higher energy level ([[Physics:Excited state|excitation]]); when the system loses energy, there is a transition to a lower energy level.<br />
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The concept was introduced by [[Biography:Niels Bohr|Niels Bohr]], in his 1913 [[Physics:Bohr model|Bohr model]].<br />
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A quantum jump is a phenomenon that is peculiar to quantum systems and distinguishes them from classical systems, where any transitions are performed gradually. In quantum mechanics, such jumps are associated with the non-unitary evolution of a quantum-mechanical system during measurement.<br />
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A quantum jump can be accompanied by the emission or absorption of [[Physics:Photon|photon]]s; energy transfer during a quantum jump can also occur by non-radiative resonant energy transfer or in collisions with other particles.<br />
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In modern physics, the concept of a quantum jump is rarely used; as a rule scientists speak of transitions between quantum states or energy levels.<br />
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== Atomic electron transition ==<br />
{{main|Physics:Atomic electron transition}}<br />
[[File:Level diagram.svg|thumb|Grotrian diagram of a quantum 3-level system with characteristic transition frequencies, <math>\omega</math><sub>12</sub> and <math>\omega</math><sub>13</sub>, and excited state lifetimes <math>\Gamma</math><sub>2</sub> and <math>\Gamma</math><sub>3</sub>]]<br />
Atomic electron transitions cause the emission or absorption of [[Physics:Photon|photon]]s. Their statistics are [[Poisson distribution|Poissonian]], and the time between jumps is [[Exponential distribution|exponentially distributed]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mpq.mpg.de/Theorygroup/CIRAC/wiki/images/8/86/Samuel.pdf |last=Deléglise |first=S. |title=Observing the quantum jumps of light |access-date=September 17, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101107043403/http://www.mpq.mpg.de/Theorygroup/CIRAC/wiki/images/8/86/Samuel.pdf |archive-date=November 7, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The damping time constant (which ranges from [[Nanosecond|nanosecond]]s to a few seconds) relates to the natural, pressure, and field [[Physics:Spectral line#Line broadening and shift|broadening of spectral lines]]. The larger the energy separation of the states between which the electron jumps, the shorter the [[Wavelength|wavelength]] of the photon emitted.<br />
[[File:Quantum jumps.gif|thumb|EMCCD camera and photomultiplier tube signals while driving quantum jumps on the 674 nm transition of <sup>88</sup>Sr<sup>+</sup>]]<br />
In an [[Physics:Ion trap|ion trap]], quantum jumps can be directly observed by addressing a trapped ion with radiation at two different frequencies to drive electron transitions.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Foot |first=C. J. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/181750270 |title=Atomic physics |date=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-152314-4 |location=Oxford |oclc=181750270}}</ref> This requires one strong and one weak transition to be excited (denoted <math>\omega</math><sub>12</sub> and <math>\omega</math><sub>13</sub> respectively in the figure to the right). The electron energy level, <math>|2\rangle</math>, has a short lifetime, <math>\Gamma</math><sub>2</sub> which allows for constant emission of photons at a frequency <math>\omega</math><sub>12</sub> which can be collected by a camera and/or [[Physics:Photomultiplier tube|photomultiplier tube]]. State <math>|3\rangle</math> has a relatively long lifetime <math>\Gamma</math><sub>3</sub> which causes an interruption of the photon emission as the electron gets shelved in state through application of light with frequency <math>\omega</math><sub>13.</sub> The ion going dark is a direct observation of quantum jumps.<br />
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== Molecular electronic transition ==<br />
{{main|Physics:Molecular electronic transition}}<br />
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==References==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
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== Sources ==<br />
* [http://www.mikomma.de/schroe/quantumjumps.htm Are there quantum jumps?]<br />
* «[http://www.rzuser.uni-heidelberg.de/~as3/no-quantum-jumps.pdf There are no quantum jumps, nor are there particles!]» by H. D. Zeh, ''Physics Letters'' '''A172''', 189 (1993).<br />
* {{cite news<br />
| last = Gleick<br />
| first = James Gleick<br />
| title =Physicists Finally Get To See the Quantum Jump<br />
| newspaper =New York Times<br />
| location =New York City<br />
| date = October 21, 1986<br />
| url = http://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/21/science/physicists-finally-get-to-see-quantum-jump-with-own-eyes.html<br />
| access-date =2013-08-23}}<br />
* [http://www.mikomma.de/fh/hydrod/h71.html Der Quantensprung im Bohrschen Atommodell] Frühe Quantenphysik<br />
* [http://www.zeit.de/1996/19/quanten.txt.19960503.xml Der Quantensprung] Die zweifelhafte Karriere eines Fachausdrucks (ZEIT 1996)<br />
* [http://www.arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/9702007 M.B. Plenio und P.L. Knight ''The Quantum Jump Approach to Dissipative Dynamics in Quantum Optics''], vgl. auch Rev. Mod. Phys. '''70''' 101–144 (1998). (Beschreibung der Dynamik offener Systeme mittels Quantensprüngen)<br />
* [http://www.mikomma.de/soqsp/soqsp.htm Historisches zum Quantensprung], Sommerfeld und Einstein 1911<br />
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[[Category:Quantum mechanics]]<br />
[[Category:Spectroscopy]]<br />
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