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How fast is a quantum jump?

Authors :
de la Peña, Luis
Cetto, Ana María
Valdés-Hernández, Andrea
Publication Year :
2020

Abstract

A proposal is put forward for an estimate of the duration of a transition between atomic states. The proposal rests on the consideration that a resonance of the atomic electron with modes of the zero-point radiation field of Compton's frequency is at the core of the phenomenon. The theoretical result, given essentially by the expression (\alpha\omega_{C})^{-1}, where \alpha is the fine structure constant and \omega_{C} the Compton angular frequency for the electron, lies well within the range of the recently experimentally estimated values of the order of attoseconds (10^{-18} s).<br />Comment: 7 pages

Subjects

Subjects :
Quantum Physics

Details

Database :
arXiv
Publication Type :
Report
Accession number :
edsarx.2009.02426
Document Type :
Working Paper
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physleta.2020.126880