Underbarrier interference
- Instituto de Fisica, Universidad Autonoma de San Luis Potosi, San Luis Potosi (Mexico)
Research Highlights: > In tunneling a momentum, tangent to a border of the prebarrier region, is important. > A tangent momentum, transferred under the barrier, is real in contrast to normal one. > Real momenta lead to caustics points under the barrier where new branches are formed. > Resulting eigenstate can be not small after the barrier. > This results in a possibility of penetration through an almost classical barrier. - Abstract: 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.
- OSTI ID:
- 21579877
- Journal Information:
- Annals of Physics (New York), Vol. 326, Issue 4; Other Information: DOI: 10.1016/j.aop.2010.11.009; PII: S0003-4916(10)00198-3; Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.; ISSN 0003-4916
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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