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Physical Review A

Quasilinearization method applied to multidimensional quantum tunneling

Mohsen Razavy, Vincent J. Cote

Published Apr 1, 1994• 4 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We apply the quasilinearization method of Bellman and Kalaba [Quasilinearization and Nonlinear Boundary-Value Problems (Elsevier, New York, 1965)] to find approximate solutions for the multidimensional quantum tunneling for separable as well as nonseparable wave equations. By introducing the idea of the complex ``semiclassical trajectory'' which is valid for the motion over and under the barrier, and which, in the proper limit, reduces to the real classical trajectory in the allowed region, we obtain an eigenvalue equation for the characteristic wave numbers. This eigenvalue equation is similar to the corresponding equation obtained from the WKB approximation and yields complex eigenvalues with negative imaginary parts. When the barrier changes very rapidly as a function of the radial distance, we can replace the concept of the semiclassical trajectory, which may not be applicable in this case, by the concept of a complex ``quantum trajectory.'' The trajectory defined either way depends on a constant of integration, and by minimizing the action with respect to this constant we can obtain the minimum escape path. The case of two-dimensional tunneling is discussed as an example of this method.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.49.2266

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We apply the quasilinearization method of Bellman and Kalaba [Quasilinearization and Nonlinear Boundary-Value Problems (Elsevier, New York, 1965)] to find approximate solutions for the multidimensional quantum tunneling for separable as well as nonseparable wave equations. By introducing the idea of the complex semiclassical trajectory'' which is valid for the motion over and under the barrier, and which, in the proper limit, reduces to the real classical trajectory in the allowed region, we obtain an eigenvalue equation for the characteristic wave numbers. This eigenvalue equation is similar to the corresponding equation obtained from the WKB approximation and yields complex eigenvalues with negative imaginary parts. When the barrier changes very rapidly as a function of the radial distance, we can replace the concept of the semiclassical trajectory, which may not be applicable in this case, by the concept of a complex quantum trajectory.'' The trajectory defined either way depends on a constant of integration, and by minimizing the action with respect to this constant we can obtain the minimum escape path. The case of two-dimensional tunneling is discussed as an example of this method.
A Brief History of Quantum Tunneling Some Basic Questions Concerning Quantum Tunneling Simple Solvable Problems Time-Dependence of the Wave Function in One-Dimensional Tunneling Semiclassical Approximations Generalization of the Bohr - Sommerfeld Quantization Rule and its Application to Quantum Tunneling Gamow's Theory, Complex Eigenvalues, and the Wave Function of a Decaying State Tunneling in Symmetric and Asymmetric Local Potentials and Tunneling in Nonlocal and Quasi-Solvable Barriers Classical Descriptions of Tunneling Tunneling in Time-Dependent Barriers Decay Width and Scattering Theory The Method of Variable Reflection Amplitude Applied to Solve Multichannel Tunneling Problems Path Integral and Its Semi-Classical Approximation in Quantum Tunneling Heisenberg's Equations of Motion for Tunneling Wigner Distribution Function in Quantum Tunneling Decay Widths of Siegert States, Complex Scaling and Dilatation Transformation Multidimensional Quantum Tunneling Group and Signal Velocities Time-Delay, Reflection Time Operator and Minimum Tunneling Time More about Tunneling Time Tunneling of a System with Internal Degrees of Freedom Motion of a Particle in a Waveguide with Variable Cross Section and in a Space Bounded by a Dumbbell-Shaped Object Relativistic Formulation of Quantum Tunneling Inverse Problems of Quantum Tunneling Some Examples of Quantum Tunneling in Atomic and Molecular Physics Some Examples from Condensed Matter Physics Alpha Decay.
In this paper we present a method for obtaining the WKB approximation for non-separable multidimensional potentials. At its leading order one has to solve the classical Hamilton-Jacobi equation with zero energy for which a very efficient method is proposed. The essence of this method lies in the recognition that in the vicinity to the potential minimum the solution of Schrödinger equation has to approach that of coupled harmonic oscillators. Quantum corrections to the semiclassical result are then obtained very easily and to an arbitrarily high order. The method is applied to the calculation of the tunneling splitting and tunneling lifetime. We show that classical turning points are part of the dynamical problem; they could not be determined simply from looking at the form of the potential, but are obtained from the solution of the pertinent equations of motion.
A semiclassical method of complex trajectories for the calculation of the tunneling exponent n systems with many degrees of freedom is further developed. It is supplemented with an easily implemented technique that enables one to single out the physically relevant trajectory from the whole set of complex classical trajectories. The method is applied to semiclassical transitions of a bound system through a potential barrier. We find that the properties of physically relevant complex trajectories are qualitatively different in the cases of potential tunneling at low energy and dynamical tunneling at energies exceeding the barrier height. Namely, in the case of high energies, the physically relevant complex trajectories describe tunneling via creation of a state close to the top of the barrier. The method is checked against exact solutions of the Schrödinger equation in a quantum-mechanical system of two degrees of freedom.
This chapter considers an approximate method of solving the Schrodinger equation in the case when the wavelength of the particle is small by comparison with the distance over which the potential changes appreciably. Since the limit of short wavelength corresponds to the limit of classical mechanics, the quasiclassical approximation allows to explore the relation between classical and quantum mechanics. The chapter discusses how to match the quasiclassical wave function f in the region accessible to classical motion with the wave function in the forbidden region. Since the action function is a minimum along the classical trajectory, the pencil of trajectories adjacent to the classical one gives the minimum phase factor. The chapter examines the problem of the escape of a particle from a potential barrier; this problem reduces to the problem of the spreading of a wave packet which describes a particle which at the initial time was inside the barrier.
A method for obtaining the WKB wave function describing the particle tunneling outside of a two-dimensional potential well is suggested. The Cartesian coordinates (x,y)(x,y)(x,y) are chosen in such a way that the xxx axis has the direction of the probability flux at large distances from the well. The WKB wave function is then obtained by simultaneous expansion of the wave function in the coordinate yyy and the parameter determining the curvature of the escape path. It is argued, both physically and mathematically, that these two expansions are mutually consistent. It is shown that the method provides systematic approximation to the outgoing probability flux. Both the technical and conceptual advantages of this approach in comparison with the usual approach based on the solution of classical equations of motion are pointed out. The method is applied to the problem of the coupled anharmonic oscillators and verified through the dispersion relations.
A semiclassical method of complex trajectories for the calculation of the tunneling exponent in systems with many degrees of freedom is further developed. It is supplemented with an easily implementable technique, which enables one to single out the physically relevant trajectory from the whole set of complex classical trajectories. The method is applied to semiclassical transitions of a bound system through a potential barrier. We find that the properties of physically relevant complex trajectories are qualitatively different in the cases of potential tunneling at low energy and dynamical tunneling at energies exceeding the barrier height. Namely, in the case of high energies, the physically relevant complex trajectories describe tunneling via creation of a state close to the top of the barrier. The method is checked against exact solutions of the Schrodinger equation in a quantum mechanical system of two degrees of freedom.