Analytic solutions of the quantum two-state problem in terms of the double, bi- and triconfluent Heun functions

Abstract

We derive five classes of quantum time-dependent two-state models solvable in terms of the double confluent Heun functions, five other classes solvable in terms of the biconfluent Heun functions, and a class solvable in terms of the triconfluent Heun functions. These classes generalize all the known families of two- or three-parametric models solvable in terms of the confluent hypergeometric functions to more general four-parametric classes involving three-parametric detuning modulation functions. The particular models derived describe different non-linear (parabolic, cubic, sinh, cosh, etc.) level-sweeping or level-glancing processes, double- or triple-level-crossing processes, as well as periodically repeated resonance-glancing or resonance-crossing processes. We show that more classes can be derived using the equations obeyed by certain functions involving the derivatives of the confluent Heun functions. We present an example of such a class for each of the three discussed confluent Heun equations.