Effect of decay of the final states on the probabilities of the Landau-Zener transitions in multistate non-integrable models

Abstract

For a Landau-Zener transition in a two-level system, the probability for a particle, initially in the first level, to survive the transition and to remain in the first level, does not depend on whether or not the second level is broadened [V. M. Akulin and W. P. Schleicht, Phys. Rev. A {\bf 46}, 4110 (1992)]. In other words, the seminal Landau-Zener result applies regardless of the broadening of the second level. The same question for the multistate Landau-Zener transition is addressed in the present paper. While for integrable multistate models, where the transition does not involve interference of the virtual paths, it can be argued that the independence of the broadening persists, we focus on non-integrable models involving interference. For a simple four-state model, which allows an analytical treatment, we demonstrate that the decay of the excited states affects the survival probability provided that {\em the widths of the final states are different}.

6 pages and 2 figures

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