Delay time and tunneling transient phenomena

Analytic solutions to the time-dependent Schrodinger equation for cutoff wave initial conditions are used to investigate the time evolution of the transmitted probability density for tunneling. For a broad range of values of the potential barrier opacity alpha, we find that the probability density e...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Authors: Villavicencio, J; García-Calderon, G
Format: Article
Status:Published version
Publication date:2002
Country:México
Institution:UNAM
Repository:Sistema de Información de la Facultad de Ciencias, UNAM
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.fciencias.unam.mx:11154/1820
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11154/1820
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Optics
Physics, Atomic, Molecular & Chemical
Description
Summary:Analytic solutions to the time-dependent Schrodinger equation for cutoff wave initial conditions are used to investigate the time evolution of the transmitted probability density for tunneling. For a broad range of values of the potential barrier opacity alpha, we find that the probability density exhibits two evolving structures. One refers to the propagation of a forerunner related to a time domain resonance [Phys. Rev. A 64, 0121907 (2001)], while the other consists of a semiclassical propagating wave front. We find a regime where the forerunners are absent, corresponding to positive time delays, and show that this regime is characterized by opacities alpha<alpha(c). The critical opacity alpha(c) is derived from the analytical expression for the delay time, which reflects a link between transient effects in tunneling and the delay time.