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Physical Review A

Unified analytical description of the time evolution of decay for initial states formed by wave-packet scattering and by initial decaying states in quantum systems

Sergio Cordero, Gastón García‐Calderón, Roberto Romo, Jorge Villavicencio

Published Oct 24, 2011• 15 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We consider a unified analytical approach for scattering and decay processes in one-dimensional resonant tunneling systems using the formalism of resonant states to address the issue of the differences and similarities in the time evolution of decay between the decay of an arbitrary state prepared initially within a system and the formation and subsequent decay of a quasistationary state in the scattering of a Gaussian wavepacket on that system. We find three distinctive regimes. A first regime, which refers only to the quasistationary state, that is characterized by a buildup time of the probability density at a given position within the internal region of the potential. Here we find that the buildup time has a dependence on position. A second regime, dominated by the exponentially decaying terms, where the decay of the quasistationary state proceeds in an almost identical fashion as for the initially prepared decaying state. And finally, a third regime that involves the transition to nonexponential decay at long times and its ulterior behavior as an inverse power of time. Here we find that the time scale of the transition occurs at different times, which implies a dependence on the parameters of the initial state.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.84.042118

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We consider a unified analytical approach for scattering and decay processes in one-dimensional resonant tunneling systems using the formalism of resonant states to address the issue of the differences and similarities in the time evolution of decay between the decay of an arbitrary state prepared initially within a system and the formation and subsequent decay of a quasistationary state in the scattering of a Gaussian wavepacket on that system. We find three distinctive regimes. A first regime, which refers only to the quasistationary state, that is characterized by a buildup time of the probability density at a given position within the internal region of the potential. Here we find that the buildup time has a dependence on position. A second regime, dominated by the exponentially decaying terms, where the decay of the quasistationary state proceeds in an almost identical fashion as for the initially prepared decaying state. And finally, a third regime that involves the transition to nonexponential decay at long times and its ulterior behavior as an inverse power of time. Here we find that the time scale of the transition occurs at different times, which implies a dependence on the parameters of the initial state.
Abstract We derive an exact analytic solution of time-dependent Schrödinger’s equation for cutoff quantum waves with exponential modulation to explore the dynamics along the internal region of a one-dimensional potential of arbitrary shape. The modulation of the wave packet is controlled by a single parameter given by its momentum distribution width, Δ, which allows to explore on the same footing the transient features of both cutoff spatially localized wave packets and extended plane waves. From the formal solution, we derive a simple and reliable formula that accurately describes both the buildup and decay of the probability density inside a resonant structure. The buildup-decay formula involves two exponential terms governed respectively by the resonance width Γ 1 of the lowest resonance of the system and the width Γ ¯ of a ‘virtual’ state induced by the incident wave packet. During the buildup process, we demonstrate that the contributions of both Γ 1 and Γ ¯ become essential. In the decay process, on the other hand, we find that there are two regimes characterized by a critical value Δ c , such that for Δ > Δ c the exponential decay is governed by Γ 1 , while for Δ < Δ c the exponential decay is governed by Γ ¯ . We also derive an analytic formula for a relevant timescale for the buildup-decay process, which depends in a simple fashion on the decay rates Γ 1 and Γ ¯ . Deviations from the exponential decay law at long times are also discussed.
The exponential and nonexponential regimes of the buildup process in resonant tunneling structures are analyzed by considering an analytic solution of the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation. It is found that the buildup exhibits a purely exponential behavior in a finite time interval followed by a clear transition to a nonexponential regime. The buildup of the probability amplitude in the nonexponential regime follows a ${t}^{\ensuremath{-}3/2}$ time dependence, in the same fashion as the survival amplitude in quantum decay. For incidence energies at higher isolated resonances, $E={\ensuremath{\varepsilon}}_{n}$ with n>1n>1n>1, it is found that the exponential regime is split into two exponential subregimes: the first one is governed by the width ${\ensuremath{\Gamma}}_{n}$ of the resonance chosen for the incidence energy, and the second one is dominated by the width ${\ensuremath{\Gamma}}_{1}$ of the lowest resonance. The transition occurs directly from nnn to 1 without jumps to other intermediate resonant states. This dynamics is discussed in comparison with the (opposite) and well-studied process of quantum decay, with which we find that there are striking similarities in both the exponential and nonexponential regimes. We also analyze the buildup in systems with resonance doublets, where the interference effects produced by the interacting resonances play an important role. In the latter case we find that the buildup of the probability amplitude exhibits a complex oscillatory behavior that can be characterized by a mix of oscillating contributions with well-defined Rabi type frequencies of the form $|E\ensuremath{-}{\ensuremath{\varepsilon}}_{n}|/\ensuremath{\hbar}$, where ${\ensuremath{\varepsilon}}_{n}$ are the nearest resonances around the incidence energy EEE.
An analytical solution to the time evolution of decay of one and two identical noninteracting particles is presented using the formalism of resonant states. It is shown that the time-dependent wave function and hence the survival and nonescape probabilities for the initial state of a single particle and entangled symmetric and antisymmetric initial states of two identical particles evolve in a distinctive form along the exponential and long-time nonexponential decaying regimes. In particular, for the last regime, they exhibit different inverse power of time behaviors.
Abstract By using an exact analytical formalism for quantum tunneling decay we show the existence of a regime of purely nonexponential decay for the survival probability in the full time interval and a propagating probability density along the external interaction region that evolves as a spreading process having no wavefront. This decaying regime follows from a complex pole of the propagator which in the wave number plane possesses an imaginary part larger than the corresponding real part, which implies a negative resonance energy and a decaying width, together with a dominant large overlap of the initial decaying state with the corresponding resonant state of the problem.
The time behavior of a wave packet, transmitted through a potential barrier, is investigated for all times assuming it to be initially located outside the asymmetric barrier. The survival probability of the initial state, which characterizes the decay of the unstable quantum system in three time domains, is discussed. The presence of initial, exponential, and long-time regimes is a general feature of the decay process. We analytically found the three crucial points of time that separate these regimes. These characteristic times are set by simple formulae, including momentum distribution. It is then shown that the radius of convergence of the cumulant expansion for the survival probability is always small. A long-time behavior of survival probability is described by the asymptotic series whose coefficients decrease with increasing particle energy but at different rates. To be specific, we have examined the exactly solvable model of tunneling through a finite range triangular barrier.
Motivated by recent time-domain experiments on ultrafast atom ionization, we analyze the transients and time scales that characterize, aside from the relatively long lifetime, the decay of a localized state by tunneling. While the tunneling starts immediately, some time is required for the outgoing flux to develop. This short-term behavior depends strongly on the initial state. For the initial state, tightly localized so that the initial transients are dominated by over-the-barrier motion, the time scale for flux propagation through the barrier is close to the B\"uttiker-Landauer traversal time. Then a quasistationary, slow-decay process follows, which sets ideal conditions for observing diffraction in time at longer times and distances. To define operationally a tunneling time at the barrier edge, we extrapolate backward the propagation of the wave packet that escaped from the potential. This extrapolated time is considerably longer than the time scale of the flux and density buildup at the barrier edge.