1998/08/09 by S. Gov, Gov, S., S. Shtrikman +3
Physics and Astronomy · #Atomic and Subatomic Physics Research #Classical Physics (physics.class-ph) #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #FOS: Physical sciences #Quantum, superfluid, helium dynamics #physics.class-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.physics/9808007
26 pages, 1 figure, typo corrected
openalex publication_date 1998/08/09 · arxiv created 1998/09/15 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We study, both classically and quantum-mechanically, the problem of a neutral particle with spin, moving in one-dimension in an inhomogeneous magnetic field. This problem serves for us as a toy model to study the trapping of neutral particles. We identify K, the ratio between the precessional frequency of the particle and its vibration frequency, as the relevant parameter of the problem. Classicaly, we find that when the magnetic moment is antiparallel to the direction of the magnetic field, the particle is trapped provided that K<0.5. We also find that viscous friction, be it translational or precessional, destabilizes the system. Quantum-mechanically, we study the problem of spin half particle in the same field. Treating K as a small parameter for the perturbation from the adiabatic Hamiltonian, we find the lifetime of the particle in its trapped ground-state.