2 research outputs found
Quantum tunneling as a classical anomaly
Classical mechanics is a singular theory in that real-energy classical
particles can never enter classically forbidden regions. However, if one
regulates classical mechanics by allowing the energy E of a particle to be
complex, the particle exhibits quantum-like behavior: Complex-energy classical
particles can travel between classically allowed regions separated by potential
barriers. When Im(E) -> 0, the classical tunneling probabilities persist.
Hence, one can interpret quantum tunneling as an anomaly. A numerical
comparison of complex classical tunneling probabilities with quantum tunneling
probabilities leads to the conjecture that as ReE increases, complex classical
tunneling probabilities approach the corresponding quantum probabilities. Thus,
this work attempts to generalize the Bohr correspondence principle from
classically allowed to classically forbidden regions.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure
PT-symmetry breaking in complex nonlinear wave equations and their deformations
We investigate complex versions of the Korteweg-deVries equations and an Ito
type nonlinear system with two coupled nonlinear fields. We systematically
construct rational, trigonometric/hyperbolic, elliptic and soliton solutions
for these models and focus in particular on physically feasible systems, that
is those with real energies. The reality of the energy is usually attributed to
different realisations of an antilinear symmetry, as for instance PT-symmetry.
It is shown that the symmetry can be spontaneously broken in two alternative
ways either by specific choices of the domain or by manipulating the parameters
in the solutions of the model, thus leading to complex energies. Surprisingly
the reality of the energies can be regained in some cases by a further breaking
of the symmetry on the level of the Hamiltonian. In many examples some of the
fixed points in the complex solution for the field undergo a Hopf bifurcation
in the PT-symmetry breaking process. By employing several different variants of
the symmetries we propose many classes of new invariant extensions of these
models and study their properties. The reduction of some of these models yields
complex quantum mechanical models previously studied.Comment: 50 pages, 39 figures (compressed in order to comply with arXiv
policy; higher resolutions maybe obtained from the authors upon request