UNDERBARRIER INTERFERENCE
| Date/Time: | Thursday, 28 Apr 2011 - Saturday, 30 Apr 2011 |
|---|---|
| Location: | PHYS ROOM 5 |
| Phone: | 515-294-5630 |
| Channel: | College of Liberal Arts and Sciences |
| Actions: | Download iCal/vCal | Email Reminder |
Quantum tunneling through a two-dimensional static barrier becomes unusual when a momentum of an electron has a tangent component with respect to a border of the prebarrier region. If the barrier is not homogeneous in the direction perpendicular to tunneling a fraction of the electron state is waves propagating away from the barrier.
When the tangent momentum is zero a mutual interference of the waves results in an exponentially small outgoing flux. The finite tangent momentum destroys the interference due to formation of caustics by the waves. As a result, a significant fraction of the prebarrier density is carried away from the barrier providing a not exponentially small penetration even through an almost classical barrier. The total electron energy is well below the barrier.
B. Ivlev, Annals of Physics, 326, 979 (2011)