A Formulation of a Semiclassical Theory of Multiple Processes

Sergej A. Lebedeff

A semiclassical approximation is presented which uses the wave-pocket formulation of collision theory. First an appropriate semiclassical approximation is derived by assuming that the wave packet is and remains narrow during the passage of the interaction region. After this, a process is devised to decompose a macroscopic wave packet into narrow wave packets. The wave function, after the collision, is obtained by summing up the contributions from all the narrow wave packets into which the macroscopic wave packet was decomposed. Finally, using this function, the $S$ matrix and the scattering cross section are calculated.

Christian Grosche, Frank Steiner

Colin Burdine, Nischal Binod Gautam, Enrique P. Blair

We present an atomistic quantum transport simulation framework based on the Non-Equilibrium Green's Function (NEGF) formalism to model impact ionization in semiconductor avalanche devices, with direct relevance to near-term quantum networking applications. Conventional descriptions of avalanche breakdown rely predominantly on semiclassical simulation methods, such as local ionization coefficients, semiclassical carrier trajectories, or Monte Carlo sampling, all of which implicitly assume weak correlations and mean-field electronic interactions. These assumptions break down in nanoscale, high-field junctions where carrier multiplication emerges from strongly non-equilibrium, energy-resolved scattering processes. Our approach formulates impact ionization as a multi-particle self-energy within NEGF, enabling a non-perturbative, energy- and atomic orbital-resolved description of carrier multiplication directly from the device spectral function. This formulation captures strongly inelastic scattering processes beyond semiclassical approximations and is implemented in a matrix-based real-space representation suitable for nanoscale device modeling. Using a model semiconductor structure under high electric fields, we demonstrate the emergence of carrier multiplication and analyze its dependence on energy-resolved transport and nonequilibrium charge distributions. The framework provides insight into microscopic mechanisms governing avalanche processes and their impact on device performance. Our results establish a transport baseline for self-consistent calculations of the impact-ionization self-energy and carrier multiplication. By resolving the available and occupied states that underlie avalanche onset, this framework provides a route toward predictive modeling of silicon single-photon avalanche detectors and avalanche photodiodes used in quantum-network receivers.

Eugeni P. Gordov

J.N. Elgin

Kazuo Takatsuka, Hiroki Nakamura

A new semiclassical theory is formulated by introducing a new distribution function to be propagated in phase space. Primarily this theory is intended to describe molecular collisions such as reactive scattering, but is also applicable to intramolecular processes including bound state problems. This new distribution function is a kind of characteristic function in the terminology of the phase-space-quantum theory developed by Weyl, Wigner, Moyal and others, and is called a dynamical characteristic function (DCF). The equation of motion and some properties of the DCF are presented. The essential feature of our theory is that the semiclassical DCF can be propagated using classical trajectories. This distribution function carried information not only on the density, but also on the phase (action integral). In this sense this theory can be regarded as a kind of phase-space-path-integral formalism. The semiclassical approximation is analyzed from the viewpoint of path integrals. The Wigner distribution function is also discussed in the context of our analysis. As a theoretical application, the semiclassical DCF is shown to reproduce the expression of the periodic orbit theory for bound states. Also, as a simple numerical application, a propagation of the DCF on a nonquadratic (Morse) potential is presented.