Breakdown of classical conservation of energy in a quantum wave-packet collision with a double barrier

Journal Article · Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2005 · Physical Review. A

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.71.012703· OSTI ID:20650232

Perez Prieto, A L; Brouard, S ^[1]; Muga, J G ^[2]

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1. Departamento de Fisica Fundamental II, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna 38203, Tenerife (Spain)
2. Departamento de Quimica Fisica, Universidad del Pais Vasco, Apartado 644, 48080 Bilbao (Spain)

A transient interference during the collision of a broad quantum particle wave packet with a properly chosen potential barrier suppresses, for energies well above the barrier top, the main incident momentum. This collision enhances the momenta below and above the central one, violating the classical conservation of energy. For the double square barrier the effect is due to the interference between three components (incident, transmitted, and interbarriers terms) and survives much longer than for the single barrier, facilitating its observation. A quantum optical realization with two-level atoms and effective laser barriers is discussed.

• OSTI ID: 20650232
• Journal Information: Physical Review. A, Vol. 71, Issue 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevA.71.012703; (c) 2005 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1050-2947
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS
ATOMS
COLLISIONS
ENERGY LEVELS
INTERFERENCE
LASER RADIATION
POTENTIALS
TRANSIENTS
WAVE PACKETS