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I hope I use the correct terms for what I want to say, but as I am a German student I don't exactly know all English words in Physics. Please tell me if something is unclear.

I have a question regarding the one-dimensional potential well: By sending out photons, an electron in a one-dimensional potential well can be stimulated and the energy needed for this can be calculated. For example an electron can be stimulated to go from n = 1 -> n = 2. My question is, whether it is possible to stimulate a electron to "skip" an level in the well. So for example: n = 1 -> n = 3, of course if supplied with a sufficient photon. Or would a photon still cause this: n = 1 -> n = 2 -> n = 3

Because if it would directly go from n = 1 to n = 3, there would be many more possibilities for wavelengths in an absorption spectrum, which is why I am asking this question.

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  • $\begingroup$ I wonder how you can calculate the absorption of a photon by an electron in a 1-dimensional quantum well. Photons have spin 1 thus an angular momentum that has to be taken over by the electron. But the 1-d quantum well electron states do not have angular momentum. For photon absorption you have selection rules that are related to conservation of angular momentum. So how will angular momentum be conserved in your case? $\endgroup$
    – freecharly
    Commented Sep 22, 2016 at 19:30
  • $\begingroup$ Well, maybe it's because I am doing school-level physics and not university-level physics, but we can calculate the energy of that electron in the well as follows: E(n) = (n^2 * h^2) / (8*m*a^2), where a is the length of the well, m the mass of the electron, n the "level" (don't know the English term, n = 1, 2, 3....). The energy difference is deltaE=E(m)-E(n) where m is the new "level". The sufficient wavelength of the photon is then calculated by deltaE=h*(c/lambda) $\endgroup$
    – Maxbit
    Commented Sep 22, 2016 at 19:49
  • $\begingroup$ Pretty impressive that you are doing this already in high school. I wish you much fun and good luck! $\endgroup$
    – freecharly
    Commented Sep 22, 2016 at 20:00

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If you just consider transitions in energy, in the number n, disregarding other conservation laws, any transition is possible as long as you provide the necessary energy, not just from n to n+1.

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  • $\begingroup$ Thank you! So the transition from n to n+2 is done "directly", not via n+1 and then again n+1? $\endgroup$
    – Maxbit
    Commented Sep 22, 2016 at 19:58
  • $\begingroup$ Yes you are correct! $\endgroup$
    – freecharly
    Commented Sep 22, 2016 at 20:33

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