In a previous paper [G. E. Hahne, J. Phys. A 36, 7149 (2003)] the author studied a nontraditional boundary value problem associated with Schr\"odinger's partial differential equation for the wave function of a structureless particle moving in four-dimensional spacetime: in this boundary value problem, instead of the conventional specification of initial wave-function values on a $\text{time}=\text{constant}$ surface, suitable time-dependent boundary and normal-derivative values are given on a three-dimensional space-time surface surrounding a slablike region of interaction in four-dimensional spacetime. The particle's time coordinate plays a natural role as an operator and observable in the modified formalism. In the present paper, the formalism is extended to describe a system of two nonrelativistic particles---each with its own time coordinate---scattering from background potentials and from one another in four-dimensional spacetime. The two-body interaction is taken as a generic noninstantaneous action-at-a-distance, which depends independently on the space-time positions of the two particles. The dynamics is expressed in terms of an integral equation for the wave function, that is, a nonrelativistic version of the Bethe-Salpeter equation. An optical theorem is derived for the transition operator associated with scattering processes; when the theorem holds, the pointwise probability current density derivable from the wave function is conserved globally, that is, in a region covering the space-time domain of significant interparticle interaction. A general formula for the expected dwell-correlation time for the two particles in the space-time region in terms of the scattering matrices is worked out.
In a previous paper [G. E. Hahne, J. Phys. A 36, 7149 (2003)] the author studied a nontraditional boundary value problem associated with Schr"odinger's partial differential equation for the wave function of a structureless particle moving in four-dimensional spacetime: in this boundary value problem, instead of the conventional specification of initial wave-function values on a time=constant surface, suitable time-dependent boundary and normal-derivative values are given on a three-dimensional space-time surface surrounding a slablike region of interaction in four-dimensional spacetime. The particle's time coordinate plays a natural role as an operator and observable in the modified formalism. In the present paper, the formalism is extended to describe a system of two nonrelativistic particles---each with its own time coordinate---scattering from background potentials and from one another in four-dimensional spacetime. The two-body interaction is taken as a generic noninstantaneous action-at-a-distance, which depends independently on the space-time positions of the two particles. The dynamics is expressed in terms of an integral equation for the wave function, that is, a nonrelativistic version of the Bethe-Salpeter equation. An optical theorem is derived for the transition operator associated with scattering processes; when the theorem holds, the pointwise probability current density derivable from the wave function is conserved globally, that is, in a region covering the space-time domain of significant interparticle interaction. A general formula for the expected dwell-correlation time for the two particles in the space-time region in terms of the scattering matrices is worked out.
Muñoz, Seidel, and Muga [Phys. Rev. A 79, 012108 (2009)10.1103/PhysRevA.79.012108], following an earlier proposal by Pollak and Miller [Phys. Rev. Lett. 53, 115 (1984)10.1103/PhysRevLett.53.115] in the context of a theory of a collinear chemical reaction, showed that suitable moments of a two-flux correlation function could be manipulated to yield expressions for the mean quantum dwell time and mean square quantum dwell time for a structureless particle scattering from a time-independent potential energy field between two parallel lines in a two-dimensional spacetime. The present work proposes a generalization to a charged, nonrelativistic particle scattering from a transient, spatially confined electromagnetic vector potential in four-dimensional spacetime. The geometry of the spacetime domain is that of the slab between a pair of parallel planes, in particular, those defined by constant values of the third (z) spatial coordinate. The mean Nth power, N = 1, 2, 3, …, of the quantum dwell time in the slab is given by an expression involving an N-flux-correlation function. All these means are shown to be nonnegative. The N = 1 formula reduces to an S-matrix result published previously [G. E. Hahne, J. Phys. A 36, 7149 (2003)10.1088/0305-4470/36/25/316]; an explicit formula for N = 2, and of the variance of the dwell time in terms of the S-matrix, is worked out. A formula representing an incommensurability principle between variances of the output-minus-input flux of a pair of dynamical variables (such as the particle's time flux and others) is derived.
The nonrelativistic Schrödinger equation for motion of a structureless particle in four-dimensional space-time entails a well-known expression for the conserved four-vector field of local probability density and current that are associated with a quantum state solution to the equation.Under the physical assumption that each spatial, as well as the temporal, component of this current is observable, the position in time becomes an operator and an observable in that the weighted average value of the time of the particle's crossing of a complete hyperplane can be simply defined: the theory predicts, and experiment is presumed to be able to observe, the integral over the hyperplane of the normal component of probability current, weighted by the time coordinate.In conventional formulations the hyperplane is always spacelike, i.e., is a time=constant hyperplane in Galilean relativity, and the result is then trivial.A nontrivial result is obtained if the plane is not of this type.When the space-time coordinates are (t, x, y, z), the paper analyzes in detail the case that the hyperplane is of the type z=constant.Particles can cross such a hyperplane in either direction, so it proves convenient to introduce an indefinite metric, and correspondingly a sesquilinear inner product with non-Hilbert space structure, for the space of quantum states on such a surface.Since the metric is indefinite, an uncertainty principle involving the dispersion of the crossing time and the dispersion of its conjugate momentum does not appear to be derivable from the theory.A detailed formalism for computing average crossing times on a z=constant hyperplane, and average dwell times and delay times for a zone of interaction contained between a pair of z=constant hyperplanes, is presented.
The nonrelativistic Schrödinger equation for motion of a structureless particle in four-dimensional spacetime entails a well-known expression for the conserved four-vector field of local probability density and current that are associated with a quantum state solution to the equation. Under the physical assumption that each spatial, as well as the temporal, component of this current is observable, the position in time becomes an operator and an observable in that the weighted average value of the time of the particle's crossing of a complete hyperplane can be simply defined: the theory predicts, and experiment is presumed to be able to observe, the integral over the hyperplane of the normal component of probability current, weighted by the time coordinate. In conventional formulations the hyperplane is always spacelike, i.e. is a time = constant hyperplane in the Galilean relativity, and the result is then trivial. A nontrivial result is obtained if the plane is not of this type. When the spacetime coordinates are ( t , x , y , z ), the paper analyses in detail the case that the hyperplane is of the type z = constant. Particles can cross such a hyperplane in either direction, so it proves convenient to introduce an indefinite metric, and correspondingly a sesquilinear inner product with non-Hilbert space structure, for the space of quantum states on such a surface. Since the metric is indefinite, an uncertainty principle involving the dispersion of the crossing time and the dispersion of its conjugate momentum does not appear to be derivable from the theory. A detailed formalism for computing average crossing times on a z = constant hyperplane, and average dwell times and delay times between a pair of z = constant hyperplanes, is presented.
A general formulation of the sojourn-time operator approach is presented, valid for arbitrary scattering systems and free of restrictions to one-dimensional systems present in the previous work of the authors. We show how first-order perturbation theory can be consistently formulated in terms of appropriate sojourn-time operators. Both time-dependent and time-independent perturbations, including coupling between translation and internal degrees of freedom, are considered. The mean values of these Hermitian sojourn-time operators give the mean sojourn time (dwell time) of the particle in spatial regions or, more generally, in certain subspaces of the state space of the system defined by sets of commuting observables. The perturbed S operator and also the effect of the perturbation on the change of observables due to the scattering are, to a first-order approximation, fully expressible in terms of these operators. We also show that this approach provides a unified treatment of the various idealized one-dimensional systems, which have frequently been employed in the debate on tunneling and interaction times. In particular, we provide some insight into the role of complex times, which appear as combinations of matrix elements of the sojourn-time operators.
Time continues to be an intriguing physical property in the modern era. On the one hand, we have the classical and relativistic notion of time, where space and time have the same hierarchy, essential in describing events in spacetime. On the other hand, in quantum mechanics, time appears as a classical parameter, meaning that it does not have an uncertain relation with its canonical conjugate. In this work we use a recent spacetime-symmetric proposal [Phys. Rev. A 95, 032133 (2017)] that tries to solve the unbalance in nonrelativistic quantum mechanics by extending the usual Hilbert space: the time parameter t and the position operator $\stackrel{\ifmmode \hat{}\else \^{}\fi{}}{X}$ in one subspace, and the position parameter x and time operator T in the other subspace. Time as an operator is better suited for describing tunneling processes. We then solve the 1/2-fractional integrodifferential equation for a particle subjected to strong and weak potential limits and obtain an analytical expression for the tunneling time through a rectangular barrier. Using a Gaussian energy distribution, we demonstrate that for wave packets well resolved in time, the expectation value of the operator T is the energy average of the classical time ${T}_{\text{class}}=\ensuremath{\partial}S/\ensuremath{\partial}E$, where S is the classical action, which can be real or imaginary. The imaginary classical time does not contribute to the traveling time. Furthermore, we apply our results to a Gaussian energy distribution and compare them to previous works. This work is a correction of a previous paper [Phys. Rev. A 107, 052220 (2023)].
A simple exact solution for the spacetime particle propagator in the presence of a one-dimensional rectangular potential is obtained. This propagator solves the Cauchy problem for the corresponding time-dependent Schrodinger equation in terms of the forward-moving (positive momentum) and backward-moving (negative momentum) components of the wavefunction. The exact formulae for the time-dependent wavefunction in different spatial regions (before, inside and after the barrier) are found. These results demonstrate that generally the forward- and backward-moving components of the wavefunction as well as their interference contribute to the probability density of finding a particle in different spacetime regions. The time of arrival to and the dwell time in the above-mentioned spatial regions are also obtained. The relative contribution of the positive- and negative-momentum components of the wavefunction as well as those of the below- and above-barrier energy regions are discussed for the case of an initial Gaussian wave packet. Numerical visualization of the probability density to find a particle in the different spacetime regions is performed and discussed in the tunneling regime.