We consider a quantum gas of noninteracting particles confined in the expanding cavity and investigate the nature of the nonadiabatic force which is generated from the gas and acts on the cavity wall. First, with use of the time-dependent canonical transformation, which transforms the expanding cavity to the nonexpanding one, we can define the force operator. Second, applying the perturbative theory, which works when the cavity wall begins to move at time origin, we find that the nonadiabatic force is quadratic in the wall velocity and thereby does not break the time-reversal symmetry, in contrast with 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 the force operator and the issue of the perturbative theory. The mysterious mechanism of nonadiabatic transition with the use of transitionless quantum states is also explained. The study is done for both cases of the hard- and soft-wall confinement with the time-dependent confining length.
©2011 American Physical Society