Accession Number:

ADA566483

Title:

Effect of Chaos on Relativistic Quantum Tunneling

Descriptive Note:

Journal article

Corporate Author:

NAVAL RESEARCH LAB WASHINGTON DC

Personal Author(s):

• Ni, Xuan
• Huang, Liang
• Lai, Ying-Cheng
• Pecora, Louis M.

Report Date:

2012-06-01

Pagination or Media Count:

8.0

Abstract:

We solve the Dirac equation in two spatial dimensions in the setting of resonant tunneling, where the system consists of two symmetric cavities connected by a finite potential barrier. The shape of the cavities can be chosen to yield both regular and chaotic dynamics in the classical limit. We find that certain pointer states about classical periodic orbits can exist,which suppress quantum tunneling, and the effect becomes less severe as the underlying classical dynamics in the cavity is chaotic, leading to regularization of tunneling dynamics even in the relativistic quantum regime. Similar phenomena have been observed in graphene. A physical theory is developed to explain the phenomenon based on the spectrum of complex eigenenergies of the non-Hermitian Hamiltonian describing the effectively open cavity system.

Descriptors:

• *QUANTUM THEORY
• CAVITIES
• DYNAMICS
• EQUATIONS
• HAMILTONIAN FUNCTIONS
• PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
• QUANTUM ELECTRONICS
• REPRINTS
• SETTING(ADJUSTING)
• SHAPE
• SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION
• SPECTRA
• SYMMETRY
• THEORY
• TUNNELING(ELECTRONICS)
• YIELD

Subject Categories:

• Quantum Theory and Relativity

Distribution Statement:

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE