593 research outputs found
Transient interference of transmission and incidence
Due to a transient quantum interference during a wavepacket collision with a
potential barrier, a particular momentum, that depends on the potential
parameters but is close to the initial average momentum, becomes suppressed.
The hole left pushes the momentum distribution outwards leading to a
significant constructive enhancement of lower and higher momenta. This is
explained in the momentum complex-plane language in terms of a saddle point and
two contiguous ``structural'' poles, which are not associated with resonances
but with incident and transmitted components of the wavefunction.Comment: 4 pages of text, 6 postscript figures, revte
Decoherence in a quantum harmonic oscillator monitored by a Bose-Einstein condensate
We investigate the dynamics of a quantum oscillator, whose evolution is
monitored by a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) trapped in a symmetric double
well potential. It is demonstrated that the oscillator may experience various
degrees of decoherence depending on the variable being measured and the state
in which the BEC is prepared. These range from a `coherent' regime in which
only the variances of the oscillator position and momentum are affected by
measurement, to a slow (power law) or rapid (Gaussian) decoherence of the mean
values themselves.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, lette
Explicit solution for a Gaussian wave packet impinging on a square barrier
The collision of a quantum Gaussian wave packet with a square barrier is
solved explicitly in terms of known functions. The obtained formula is suitable
for performing fast calculations or asymptotic analysis. It also provides
physical insight since the description of different regimes and collision
phenomena typically requires only some of the terms.Comment: To be published in J. Phys.
Stochastic dynamics of an electron in a Penning trap: phase flips correlated with amplitude collapses and revivals
We study the effect of noise on the axial mode of an electron in a Penning
trap under parametric-resonance conditions. Our approach, based on the
application of averaging techniques to the description of the dynamics,
provides an understanding of the random phase flips detected in recent
experiments. The observed correlation between the phase jumps and the amplitude
collapses is explained. Moreover, we discuss the actual relevance of noise
color to the identified phase-switching mechanism. Our approach is then
generalized to analyze the persistence of the stochastic phase flips in the
dynamics of a cloud of N electrons. In particular, we characterize the detected
scaling of the phase-jump rate with the number of electrons.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figure
Time scale of forerunners in quantum tunneling
The forerunners preceding the main tunneling signal of the wave created by a
source with a sharp onset or by a quantum shutter, have been generally
associated with over-the-barrier (non-tunneling) components. We demonstrate
that, while this association is true for distances which are larger than the
penetration lenght, for smaller distances the forerunner is dominated by
under-the-barrier components. We find that its characteristic arrival time is
inversely proportional to the difference between the barrier energy and the
incidence energy, a tunneling time scale different from both the phase time and
the B\"uttiker-Landauer (BL) time.Comment: Revtex4, 14 eps figure
Reduced dimensionality spin-orbit dynamics of CH3 + HCl reversible arrow CH4 Cl on ab initio surfaces
A reduced dimensionality quantum scattering method is extended to the study of spin-orbit nonadiabatic transitions in the CH3 + HCl reversible arrow CH4 + Cl(P-2(J)) reaction. Three two-dimensional potential energy surfaces are developed by fitting a 29 parameter double-Morse function to CCSD(T)/IB//MP2/cc-pV(T+d)Z-dk ab initio data; interaction between surfaces is described by geometry-dependent spin-orbit coupling functions fit to MCSCF/cc-pV(T+d)Z-dk ab initio data. Spectator modes are treated adiabatically via inclusion of curvilinear projected frequencies. The total scattering wave function is expanded in a vibronic basis set and close-coupled equations are solved via R-matrix propagation. Ground state thermal rate constants for forward and reverse reactions agree well with experiment. Multi-surface reaction probabilities, integral cross sections, and initial-state selected branching ratios all highlight the importance of vibrational energy in mediating nonadiabatic transition. Electronically excited state dynamics are seen to play a small but significant role as consistent with experimental conclusions. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3592732
Stereodynamical studies of velocity aligned photofragments
The state resolved stereodynamics of bimolecular reactions can be probed using velocity aligned photofragments as reagents, and polarised, Doppler resolved laser detection techniques for the products. The new strategy and its application to the reaction O(1D) + N2O→ NO + NO are outlined
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