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Gordon Gallup Publications Research Papers in Physics and Astronomy

May 2001

Quantum-Mechanical Analysis of a Longitudinal

Stern-Gerlach Effect
Gordon A. Gallup
UNL, ggallup1@unl.edu

Herman Batelaan
University of Nebraska - Lincoln, hbatelaan@unl.edu

Timothy J. Gay
University of Nebraska - Lincoln, tgay1@unl.edu

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Gallup, Gordon A.; Batelaan, Herman; and Gay, Timothy J. , "Quantum-Mechanical Analysis of a Longitudinal Stern-Gerlach Effect"
(2001). Gordon Gallup Publications. 39.
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VOLUME 86, NUMBER 20 PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 14 MAY 2001

Quantum-Mechanical Analysis of a Longitudinal Stern-Gerlach Effect

G. A. Gallup, H. Batelaan, and T. J. Gay
Behlen Laboratory of Physics, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588-0111
(Received 28 August 2000)
We present the results of a rigorous quantum-mechanical calculation of the propagation of electrons
through an inhomogeneous magnetic field with axial symmetry. A complete spin polarization of the beam
is demonstrated assuming that a Landau eigenstate can be inserted into the field. This is in contrast with
the semiclassical situation, where the spin splitting is blurred.

DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.86.4508 PACS numbers: 34.80.Nz, 03.65.Ta, 14.60.Cd

The Stern-Gerlach experiment is one of the most impor-
tant in the history of physics and is often used to illustrate
the nature of spin in quantum mechanics [1]. Curiously,
a magnet of the type used by Stern and Gerlach does not
work with beams of electrons because of the combined ef-
fects of the Lorentz force and the Heisenberg uncertainty
principle. This was shown first by Mott and Bohr in 1928
[2]. Pauli subsequently made a more general argument that
no device based on the concept of classical particle trajec-
tories and macroscopic magnetic fields could be used to
separate an electron beam by spin or to measure the elec-
tron’s magnetic moment [3]. The Bohr/Mott/Pauli argu-
ment is codified in numerous textbooks [4].
In this Letter we show that, in fact, it is possible to ob-
serve spin splitting of a beam of electrons using a longitu-
dinal magnetic-field configuration instead of the standard
transverse geometry of Stern and Gerlach. The longitudi-
nal configuration has the advantage that the electrons ex-
perience only off-axis Lorentz forces that are significantly
smaller than the on-axis forces in the transverse geome-
try. Such an idea was first proposed by Brillouin [5], but
was specifically rejected by Pauli. Recently, however, we
discovered an error in the reasoning Pauli used against
Brillouin’s idea, and analyzed a counterexample using
classical particle trajectories in which spin splitting of elec-
trons could be achieved equal to the blurring caused by the
Lorentz forces [6–8]. Although these results are intrigu-
ing, they do not take into account the wave nature of the
electron, and thus do not address the central question: Can
a spin separation really be expected? In this article we re-
port the results of a rigorous quantum-mechanical analysis
of the longitudinal Stern-Gerlach problem, which corre-
sponds to physical reality. We obtain the surprising result
that complete separation can be achieved, an improvement
over the semiclassical situation. Complete spin splitting is
thus shown to be, fundamentally, a quantum-mechanical
spin separations in some static situations [10,11]. For the
beam configuration considered by Pauli et al., however, the
situation is more ambiguous. Adler [12] and Garroway
and Stenholm [13] verified Pauli’s analysis of the trans-
verse-field geometry. More importantly for this discussion,
Bloch [14] and Dehmelt [9] sketched quantum arguments
for longitudinal-field geometries and suggested that com-
plete isolation of the lowest energy “spin-backward” state
should be possible. They did not, however, consider the
nondestructive case of full transmission of both spin com-
ponents in a beam. An experiment of the “Bloch-Dehmelt”
type was performed by Knight and his colleagues in the
mid 1960s, and observation of a low energy 共,1028 eV兲
tail of (presumably) spin-polarized electrons was reported
[15]. This work was never formally published, and, ap-
parently, could not be reproduced [9]. Sannikov [16] and
Conte et al. [17] considered the problem we take up here,
i.e., longitudinal spatial spin separation of a fully trans-
mitted beam, but did not use electron wave packets hav-
ing extended transverse dimensions. This precludes any
elimination of the splitting due to blurring of the separate
spin states.
Our calculation begins with the full nonrelativistic Ham-
៬
iltonian for an electron in the magnetic field B共r, f, z兲 of
a simple current ring. The ring lies in the x-y plane, has
radius R, and is centered at the origin. Thus,
៬ 1 dB共z兲
B共r, f, z兲 苷 2 r 关cos共f兲x̂ 1 sin共f兲ŷ兴
2 dz
1 B共z兲ẑ , (1)
where
√ !3
R
B共z兲 苷 B0 p , (2)
R 1 z2
2

effect.
It is clear that the magnetic moment of individual elec- and B0 . 0 is the field at the origin assuming r兾R ø
trons can be measured; Dehmelt and his colleagues accom- 1. Schrödinger’s equation for this problem in cylindrical
plished this with a modified Penning trap [9]. Separation coordinates about the z axis is
of electrons by spin does not follow from these experi-
ments, however, even though Pauli used the same general ≠c
关HL 共z兲 1 Hz 兴c 苷 i h̄ , (3)
argument against both. Quantum calculations have shown ≠t

4508 0031-9007兾01兾86(20)兾4508(4)$15.00 © 2001 The American Physical Society

VOLUME 86, NUMBER 20 PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 14 MAY 2001

µ ∂ where
h̄2 1 ≠ ≠ Lz2
HL 共z兲 苷 2 r 1
2me r ≠r ≠r 2me r 2 Enml ms 苷 h̄vL 共z兲 共2n 1 jml j 1 ml 1 gms 1 1兲 . (12)
1
1 vL 共z兲 共Lz 1 gSz 兲 1 me 关vL 共z兲兴2 r 2 , In order to leave ml as an explicit quantum number, we
2
(4) have not followed the common practice of denoting 2n 1
jml j as another single integer.
Substituting (6) into (3) and using (7), we obtain a set of
h̄2 ≠2 dvL
Hz 苷 2 2
1g 共xSx 1 ySy 兲 , (5) coupled equations for the anml ms . The coupling terms in
2me ≠z dz these equations determine how nonadiabatic the electron
jeB共z兲j transmission process is, i.e., how likely it is for an electron
where vL 共z兲 is the Larmor frequency 共 2me c 兲, Lz is the op-
in a given Landau uniform-field eigenstate to depart from
erator for the canonical angular momentum of the electron
that state over the course of its passage through the mag-
about the z axis, Sx , Sy , and Sz are the Cartesian spin op-
netic field. We estimate these terms by using the physi-
erators, me is the electron mass, and g 苷 2共1 1 ae 兲 is the
cal quantities considered in the semiclassical calculation
anomalous electron gyromagnetic ratio. Equations (4) and
of Ref. [6]. The electrons follow a 2 m path length that
(5) bear some discussion. The first two terms of (4) and
has a midpoint at the center of a 2 cm radius current ring,
the first term of (5) correspond to the electron’s kinetic en-
where the field magnitude B0 is 10 T. Their initial speed
ergy. In (4), both the fourth term and the part of the third
is taken to be 105 m兾s 共苷 28 meV兲. These values yield a
term involving Lz correspond to the classical 2m ៬ orb ? B៬
reasonable splitting 共631 mm兲 of the spin in a semiclassi-
potential of an electron with orbital angular momentum cal model for on-axis trajectories. From the point of view
about z. The latter part of the third term in (4) and the sec- of this paper, the 10 T maximum field means that magnetic
ond term in (5) are the equivalent terms for the magnetic potential energies for the electron along the trajectory will
potential associated with electron spin. If B៬ were uniform, always be ø28 meV for the lowest Landau levels.
the last term of (5) would vanish, and both ml and ms , the The above experimental conditions justify two ap-
quantum numbers associated with Lz and Sz , would sepa- proximations. First, the z dependence of the Landau
rately be good. Generally, for the Hamiltonian of (3), only Hamiltonian [Eq. (4)] could cause transitions between
mj 苷 ml 1 ms is a good quantum number. uniform-field Landau eigenstates. We find that these
We now construct complete wave packet solutions of the off-diagonal coupling terms can be neglected with one ex-
form ception: those associated with the magnetic-field gradient
X X X that arise from the second term on the right of Eq. (5),
c 苷 Rn共ml 兲 共r, f兲hms anml ms 共z, t兲 , (6) corresponding to electron spin flip. Second, given that
n ml ms
the magnetic potential energies are much smaller than the
where h is a spinor, the anml ms 共z, t兲 are functions that electron kinetic energy, the WKB approximation is valid
contain all of the explicit z and t dependence of c as the for the longitudinal wave function propagation.
electrons move along the magnetic field, and The spin-flip probability can be characterized by the
ratio of coupling terms U:
HL Rn共ml 兲 hms 苷 Enml ms Rn共ml 兲 hms . (7) Ç Ç
共m 兲 Uij 3共z兾R兲
Note that the Rn l 共r, f兲 have a parametric dependence 苷 p , (13)
Uii 2 Ujj 4ae a0 R关1 1 共z兾R兲2 兴1兾4
upon z, but otherwise are solutions to the standard Landau
problem. They span x-y space and can be written as where i and j label states connected by the transverse spin
p operator. Although not negligible, this quantity is ,1022
Rn共ml 兲 共r, f兲 苷 Nnjml j 共 a r兲jml j L共jm
n
l j兲
共ar 2 兲 at all values of z, and corresponds to spin-flip probabilities
1 of the same order of magnitude. Thus the electrons traverse
3 exp共2 2 ar 2 兲eiml f , (8)
the magnetic field almost completely adiabatically; if a
wave packet that corresponds to a Landau eigenfunction
共21兲n x d n n1jml j 2x
Ln共jml j兲 共x兲 苷 e 关x e 兴, (9) can be inserted into the field, the probability is high that
n! x jml j dx n it will emerge in the same state. It is interesting to note
that the small amount of spin flipping that does occur is
mv共z兲 inversely proportional to the electron g-factor anomaly.
a 苷 a共z兲 苷 , (10)
h̄ We now consider the transmission of the two Landau
wave packets with n, ml , ms 苷 0, 0, 61兾2. These states
and are most strongly coupled to the 0, 61, 71兾2 states, re-
s spectively, but this coupling is negligible, as discussed
n! a above. The packets are superpositions of plane waves such
Nnjml j 苷 , (11)
p共n 1 jml j兲! that

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VOLUME 86, NUMBER 20 PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 14 MAY 2001

a0061兾2 共z, t 苷 0兲 ⬅ a6 共z, 0兲 1

Z
苷 共2p h̄兲21兾2 f共pz 兲 0.8
0,0,+1/2 0,0,-1/2

3 exp共ipz z兾h̄兲 dpz , (14)

Probability Density
where f共pz 兲 is taken to be Gaussian-like with a spatialp
0.6

width along z of x02 and a momentum spread of h̄兾 2x0 .

At later times, 0.4
Z
a6 共z, t兲 苷 共2p h̄兲21兾2 f共p兲
0.2 3,0,-1/2
µ∑ ∏∂ 2,0,+1/2
pz Et 3,0,+1/2 2,0,-1/2
3 exp i 1 d6 共E兲 2 dp , (15)
h̄ h̄ 0
-0.1 -0.08 -0.06 -0.04 -0.02 0 0.02
where we have used the WKB approximation for Position on z axis (mm)
µ ∂
p E
d6 共E兲 苷 2 a0 RG , (16) FIG. 1. Electron probability density vs distance along the z
共2 6 ae 兲h̄v0 axis after traversal of a 2 m flight path. Each peak is marked
with its principal 共n, ml , ms 兲 values. Distance indicated is the
and deviation from the position of the leading packet, which equals
∑µ ∂1兾2 ∏
p Z ` 1 the field-free position. The n 苷 2 and n 苷 3 peaks are contami-
G共x兲 苷 x 12 2 1 dj . nant contributions caused by the insertion of the electron into
2` x共1 1 j 2 兲3兾2 the magnetic field (see text).
(17)
The value of x02 should be chosen to minimize the spread-
ing of the wave packet along ẑ over the electron flight time relevant “force” acting on it is proportional to the lon-
l兾y0 . This condition yields s gitudinal spatial derivative of the magnetic potential (and
thus ≠B兾≠z) and is therefore sharp as well. The complete
h̄l
x0,min 苷 (18) spin splitting is thus seen to be, fundamentally, a quantum-
me y0 mechanical effect.
and corresponds to 80 mm in the present case. A quantitative measurement of the spin splitting can be
The WKB phase shift can be expanded as made using the parameter F 苷 S兾W , where W is the full
d6 共p兲 苷 d0 1 d1,6 共p 2 p0 兲 1 共1兾2兲d2 共p 2 p0 兲2 width at half maximum of one of the two spin components
along the z axis, and S is the splitting distance separating
1 ... (19) the two spin component centroids. Thus F 苷 0 in the
and interpreted as follows: the wave packet is displaced by field-free case, unity if the spins are just resolved using
a distance h̄d1,6 relative to its position in the absence of a Rayleigh’s criterion, and ¿1 for “complete” splitting. F is
magnetic potential, and spreads by an amount correspond- plotted in Fig. 2 as a function of mean electron energy E0 .
ing to the normal spreading of a free wave packet at time Wave packets obeying the minimum spreading criterion
t plus an extra amount corresponding to an additional time have widths at the end of a given field-free path length
21兾4
increment, me h̄d2 . l proportional to E0 , whereas the spin splitting varies
21
The results of our calculation for the “spin-forward” and as E0 . Thus, even at the lowest energies we consider,
“spin-backward” minimum uncertainty wave packets are magnetic splitting always dominates natural wave packet
shown in Fig. 1. Their most striking feature is the virtually spreading.
complete separation of the two packets, in marked contrast The initial packets must have the spatial dimensions
with our previous calculations [6]. In those calculations, and angular momentum properties of the ground Landau
“magnetic bottle” forces associated with the mechanical states in a minimum-spreading longitudinal configuration.
orbital angular momentum of the electron “smeared” both This means that they must be cylindrically symmetric so
packets by an amount equal to their centroid splitting. In that ml 苷 0. Assuming an energy of 28 meV, minimum
the present situation, the individual wave packet spreading spreading requires a longitudinal velocity uncertainty of
is essentially that which one would observe in a field-free 1 m兾s and a pulse duration of 2 ps. We assume that the
measurement, with a very small additional spreading char- electron beam is defined by two (or more) circular aper-
acterized by d2 . The lack of spreading, when compared tures along the symmetry axis of the current ring. The
with the semiclassical case, results because the eigenen- insertion of Landau eigenstates into the B-field region oc-
ergies of the electron wave packet depend not on the me- curs at a final aperture in, e.g., a highly permeable bound-
chanical angular momentum but on the canonical angular ary wall. It can p be shown that this aperture’s diameter
momentum Lz , which is sharp. Since the electron wave should be d 苷 20h兾eB, where B is the field several di-
packet is characterized by a sharp eigenenergy, the only ameters, d, inside the container. This value of d ensures

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VOLUME 86, NUMBER 20 PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 14 MAY 2001

8 in which the beam to be polarized is that of a synchrotron,

and the separation is effected through a series of longitu-
7 dinal Stern-Gerlach “kicks.”
The authors thank Emil Sidky and Marlan Scully for
6 useful conversations. This work was supported in part
Separation Factor, F

by NSF Grant No. PHY-9702350, Research Corp. Grant

5
No. RI0380, and TIAA-CREF.
4

2 [1] W. Gerlach and O. Stern, Z. Phys. 9, 349 (1922).

1 [3] W. Pauli, in Magnetism (Gauthier-Villars, Brussels, 1930),
0 [4] See, e.g., C. Cohen-Tannoudji, B. Diu, and F. Laloe,
0.02 0.06 0.10 0.14
Electron Energy (eV)
FIG. 2. Spin splitting figure of merit F vs electron energy.
When F 苷 1, the opposite-spin wave packets just meet the
Rayleigh resolution criterion.
maximum overlap between the a0061兾2 states and an inci-
dent wave whose transverse dimensions are much larger
than the aperture. In this case, electrons emerging into
the magnetic-field region have an 82% probability of be-
ing in the n 苷 0 state. The chance of being in a state with
n , 16 is 95%. The effect of these “contaminant” ml 苷 0
states is shown in Fig. 1.
For an apparatus whose typical dimension is 1 m, B
will be of the order of a Gauss at the entrance aperture
共d 苷 5m兲. The size of the aperture is large enough to
prevent appreciable diffraction as the electrons enter the
magnetic-field region; their de Broglie wavelength at this
energy is ,1028 m. Finally we note that the magnetic
field “leaks” out into the low-field region from the entrance
aperture with an inverse third power spatial dependence on
the beam axis [18]. This results in negligible distortion of
the electron plane waves as they approach the aperture.
It appears there is no fundamental physics preventing
the observation of spin splitting. We speculate that the
most pernicious problem for the realization of our thought
experiment would be the nonideal nature of real collimat-
ing apertures, manifesting itself in spurious electric and
magnetic-field effects. A better experimental approach
may well be one of the type discussed by Conte et al. [17],
[2] N. F. Mott, Proc. R. Soc. London A 124, 425 (1929).
pp. 217–226.
0.18 Quantum Mechanics (Wiley, New York, 1977), p. 969;
E. Merzbacher, Quantum Mechanics (Wiley, New York,
1970), 2nd ed., p. 254; N. F. Mott and H. S. W. Massey,
The Theory of Atomic Collisions (Clarendon Press,
Oxford, 1965), 3rd ed., p. 214; H. C. Ohanian, Prin-
ciples of Quantum Mechanics (Prentice-Hall, Englewood
Cliffs, NJ, 1990), p. 243; J. Kessler, Polarized Electrons
(Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1985), 2nd ed., p. 2; Quantum
Theory and Measurement, edited by J. A. Wheeler and
W. H. Zurek (Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ,
1983), p. 701; G. Baym, Lectures on Quantum Mechanics
(Benjamin, New York, 1969), p. 328.
[5] L. Brillouin, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 14, 755 (1928).
[6] H. Batelaan, T. J. Gay, and J. J. Schwendiman, Phys. Rev.
Lett. 79, 4517 (1997).
[7] G. H. Rutherford and R. Grobe, Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 4772
(1998).
[8] H. Batelaan and T. J. Gay, Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 4773 (1998).
[9] H. Dehmelt, Z. Phys. D 10, 127 (1988).
[10] H. Martens and W. M. d. Muynck, J. Phys. A 26, 2001
(1993).
[11] G. H. Rutherford and R. Grobe, J. Phys. A 31, 9331 (1998).
[12] F. Adler, Helv. Phys. Acta 10, 455 (1937).
[13] B. M. Garraway and S. Stenholm, Phys. Rev. A 60, 63
(1999).
[14] F. Bloch, Physica 19, 821 (1953).
[15] L. V. Knight, in Physics (Stanford University Press, Palo
Alto, CA, 1965), p. 97.
[16] S. S. Sannikov, Sov. Phys. JETP 19, 1186 (1964).
[17] M. Conte, A. Penzo, and M. Pusterla, Nuovo Cimento
108A, 127 (1995).
[18] J. D. Jackson, Classical Electrodynamic (Wiley, New York,
1975), 2nd ed., pp. 125–127.

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