Previous theory describing the behavior of a general two-level system (TLS) coupled to a loss mechanism and driven by an oscillating field near resonance is generalized to include an arbitrary driving field. Integro-differential equations of motion for the expectation values of the Pauli spin matrices, which describe completely the behavior of a TLS, are derived. The relaxation constants involved in these equations prove to be frequency-dependent, and reactive effects produced by the loss mechanism appear. It is shown that for an approximately monochromatic driving field near resonance, the general equations of motion can be approximated by differential equations. In the case of a magnetic TLS, these differential equations reduce to the Bloch equations if reactive effects are neglected. An exact solution of the general equations of motion for the special, simple case of a magnetic TLS being driven by a transverse rotating field of arbitrary frequency is obtained, and deviation from a Lorentzian resonance shape, caused by the frequency dependence of the relaxation and reactive constants, is found to exist.

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