Rotating Gaussian wave packets in weak external potentials
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
We address the time evolution of two- and three-dimensional nonrelativistic Gaussian wave packets in the presence of a weak external potential of arbitrary functional form. The focus of our study is the phenomenon of rotation of a Gaussian wave packet around its center of mass, as quantified by mean angular momentum computed relative to the wave-packet center. Using a semiclassical approximation of the eikonal type, we derive an explicit formula for a time-dependent change of mean angular momentum of a wave packet induced by its interaction with a weak external potential. As an example, we apply our analytical approach to the scenario of a two-dimensional quantum particle crossing a tilted ridge potential barrier. In particular, we demonstrate that the initial orientation of the particle wave packet determines the sense of its rotation, and report a good agreement between analytical and numerical results.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 013617 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Physical Review A |
| Volume | 96 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 14 Jul 2017 |
Documents
- PhysRevA.96.013617
Final published version, 420 KB, PDF document
Licence: CC BY
Related information
ID: 14459982
