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American Journal of Physics

Transition between short and long wavelength limits in quantum mechanical reflection from a linear potential

S. M. Kennedy, David M. Paganin, David E. Jesson

Published Jan 12, 2008• 4 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The phase changes experienced by a wave reflected from an interface are a familiar fixture in introductory physics courses. Examples include the ±π phase shift acquired upon reflection from a hard mirror (for example, in thin film interference patterns and Newton’s rings) and the −π∕2 phase shift studied in soft mirror reflections (for example, in mirage ray paths and the WKB connection formulas). We focus on the transition between these two limits, where the phase change upon reflection evolves continuously between the limiting cases of −π and −π∕2. We study a simple quantum system that exhibits this transition: a one-dimensional free electron reflected from a linear potential.

DOI
10.1119/1.2805240

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The phase changes experienced by a wave reflected from an interface are a familiar fixture in introductory physics courses. Examples include the ±π phase shift acquired upon reflection from a hard mirror (for example, in thin film interference patterns and Newton’s rings) and the −π∕2 phase shift studied in soft mirror reflections (for example, in mirage ray paths and the WKB connection formulas). We focus on the transition between these two limits, where the phase change upon reflection evolves continuously between the limiting cases of −π and −π∕2. We study a simple quantum system that exhibits this transition: a one-dimensional free electron reflected from a linear potential.
A detailed theoretical investigation of the reflection of an atomic de Broglie wave at an evanescent wave mirror is presented. The classical and the semiclassical descriptions of the reflection process are reviewed, and a full wave-mechanical approach based on the analytical soution of the corresponding Schrödinger equation is presented. The phase shift at reflection is calculated exactly and interpreted in terms of instantaneous reflection of the atom at an effective mirror. Besides the semiclassical regime of reflection describable by the WKB method, a pure quantum regime of reflection is identified in the limit where the incident de Broglie wavelength is large compared to the evanescent wave decay length.
Abstract When a light wave is reflected at the interface between two semi-infinite media, the relative phase between the reflected and incident amplitudes is a fundamental optical effect. Another fundamental phase relation arises in a symmetric beam splitter between its reflection and transmission amplitudes. Both effects originate from the phase structure of wave scattering, although their underlying connection is not always clearly understood. As a pedagogical investigation, this paper systematically analyzes these phase relations using simple one-dimensional potential models in quantum mechanics and provides intuitive physical explanations. For a symmetric square barrier, the reflected and transmitted amplitudes necessarily differ in phase by ±π/2, with the reflection phase referenced at the interface on the incident side and the transmission phase referenced at the interface on the exit side. The result is further extended to general symmetric barriers, for which the detailed form of the barrier determines only whether the phase difference is +π/2 or -π/2. The role of this phase structure in the second-order interference of two identical particles is then examined. Through this sequence of analysis, half-wave loss at a reflecting interface, the phase relation in a symmetric beam splitter, and multiparticle quantum interference are incorporated into a unified wave-scattering framework. This treatment provides a useful pedagogical reference for related topics in quantum mechanics and optics courses.
Schwinger's variational method for the scattering phase shift produced by a central potential is adapted to reflection by a planar potential barrier (or well). The formulation is general, for an arbitrary transition between any two media, but the application here is limited to reflection at a barrier between media of equal potential energy. The simplest variational estimate for the reflection amplitude correctly tends to -1 at grazing incidence, as it must for any finite barrier. This is in contrast to the first order perturbation reflection amplitude, which diverges at grazing incidence. The same variational estimate is also correct to second order in the ratio of the interface thickness to the wavelength of the incident wave. The theory applies also to the reflection of the electromagnetic s (or transverse electric) wave at an interface between two media.
We investigate tunneling through a barrier and reflection over a step potential in the limit of long waves, i.e., near the base of the barrier, or for barriers with a small action integral over the forbidden region, and at the top of the ramp where the usual semiclassical approximation breaks down systematically. General approximations of the probability of transmission and reflection are given and compared to competing ones showing that the present approach based on the comparison method can give far better results.
The Goos-Hänchen effect is a spatial shift along an interface resulting from an interference effect that occurs for total internal reflection. This phenomenon was suggested by Sir Isaac Newton, but it was not until 1947 that the effect was experimentally observed by Goos and Hänchen. We provide the first direct, absolute, experimental determination of the Goos-Hänchen shift for a particle experiencing a potential well as required by quantum mechanics: namely, wave-particle duality. Here, the particle is a spin-polarized neutron reflecting from a film of magnetized material. We detect the effect through a subtle change in polarization of the neutron. Here, we demonstrate, through experiment and theory, that neutrons do exhibit the Goos-Hänchen effect and postulate that the associated time shift should also be observable.
In this work, the motion of a particle in one dimension under the influence of the linearly downward potential well is studied within the context of the non-relativistic quantum mechanics. The attention is paid on the paradoxical phenomenon of the reflection of a particle that is in contrast between classical and quantum physics. Classically, the reflection effect occurs only at a potential barrier. To demonstrate such counter-intuitive phenomenon, the Schrödinger equation is solved to obtain the reflection coefficient in the scattering state by considering an incident particle that is represented by a monochromatic plane wave having an energy E > 0, propagates freely from left to right, pass through the potential well. The continuity conditions at boundaries give the desired result that is expressed in terms of the Airy functions which depends on the incident energy E, the strength jV 0 j and the range L of the well. The value of the reflection coefficient R lies in the interval 0 < R < 1, and its behavior is the decreasing function with respect to the range L.