Enhancement and suppression of tunneling by controlling symmetries of a potential barrier

Journal Article · Mon Nov 15 00:00:00 EST 2010 · Physical Review. A

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVA.82.052112· OSTI ID:21528569

Bondar, Denys I ^[1]; Liu, Wing-Ki ^[1]; Ivanov, Misha Yu ^[2]

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1. University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 (Canada)
2. Imperial College, London SW7 2BW (United Kingdom)

We present a class of two-dimensional (2D) systems which shows a counterintuitive property that contradicts a semiclassical intuition: A 2D quantum particle 'prefers' tunneling through a barrier rather than traveling above it. Viewing the one-particle 2D system as a system of two 1D particles, it is demonstrated that this effect occurs due to a specific symmetry of the barrier that forces excitations of the interparticle degree of freedom that, in turn, lead to the appearance of an effective potential barrier even though there is no 'real' barrier. This phenomenon cannot exist in 1D.

• OSTI ID: 21528569
• Journal Information: Physical Review. A, Vol. 82, Issue 5; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevA.82.052112; (c) 2010 The American Physical Society; ISSN 1050-2947
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
DEGREES OF FREEDOM
EXCITATION
PARTICLES
POTENTIALS
SEMICLASSICAL APPROXIMATION
SYMMETRY
TUNNEL EFFECT
TWO-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
APPROXIMATIONS
CALCULATION METHODS
ENERGY-LEVEL TRANSITIONS