Paper detail

Ideal quantum gas in expanding cavity: nature of non-adiabatic force

We consider a quantum gas of non-interacting particles confined in the expanding cavity, and investigate the nature of the non-adiabatic force which is generated from the gas and acts on the cavity wall. Firstly, with use of the time-dependent canonical transformation which transforms the expanding cavity to the non-expanding one, we can define the force operator. Secondly, applying the perturbative theory which works when the cavity wall begins to move at time origin, we find that the non-adiabatic force is quadratic in the wall velocity and thereby does not break the time-reversal symmetry, in contrast with the general belief. Finally, using an assembly of the transitionless quantum states, we obtain the nonadiabatic force exactly. The exact result justifies the validity of both the definition of force operator and the issue of the perturbative theory. The mysterious mechanism of nonadiabatic transition with use of transitionless quantum states is also explained. The study is done on both cases of the hard-wall and soft-wall confinement with the time-dependent confining length.