Hartman Effect, Time-Delays, and the Non-spatial Nature of Quantum Particles
Massimiliano Sassoli de Bianchi
The phenomenon of quantum tunneling challenges classical intuitions about particle behavior and offers profound insights into the nature of quantum entities. This article examines tunneling through the lens of an effect predicted by Thomas E. Hartman in 1962: the tunneling time-delay becomes independent of the barrier width as the latter increases, implying superluminal effective velocities that appear to conflict with relativistic constraints. Exploiting the inherent symmetries of transmitted and reflected time-delays, our analysis shows that a tunneling particle, like its reflected counterpart, completely avoids the barrier region. However, since it can be detected on the transmitted side of the barrier, the only logical conclusion is that the classical notion of spatiality is violated during the tunneling process. In other words, quantum tunneling and the associated Hartman effect strongly support the idea that quantum non-locality should be interpreted as quantum non-spatiality. The latter, according to the conceptuality interpretation of quantum mechanics, expresses the conceptual-like nature of quantum entities, which during measurement transition from an abstract state to a maximally concrete one, in full compatibility with the Hartman effect.
arXiv:2303.08031•Epistemology & Philosophy of Science•Jan 1, 2025•0 citations