Time-dependent Interactions in Tunnelling Dynamics

Abstract

In this paper, the tunnelling of a particle through a potential barrier is investigated in the presence of a time-dependent perturbation. The latter is attributed to the process of the energy measurement of the scattered particle. The time-dependent Schrödinger equation of the model is exactly solved. The probability density inside the barrier is calculated from the obtained wave function, proving that the tunnelling dynamics is determined not only by the transmitted and reflected waves but also by their interference. Furthermore, the interference term is time-dependent and contribute to the scattering process duration. The tunnelling time is calculated as the time needed to get the probability density inside the barrier to zero. This is the minimum duration of the measurement process before detecting the particle beyond the barrier. Based on this, a new method of estimating the tunnelling time by energy experimental measuring is proposed.