Tunneling delays in frustrated total internal reflection

Abstract

We demonstrate a direct relationship between tunneling delays in a one-dimensional potential barrier and the delays observed in frustrated total internal reflection. Expressions relating the group delays in these two cases have been formulated in the past [A. M. Steinberg and R. Y. Chiao, Phys. Rev. A 49, 3283 (1994)], but only for certain limits of the normalized particle energy $E/{V}_{0}$. Here, we derive a single expression relating these two group delays that is valid for arbitrary particle energy by decomposing the group delay into dwell-time and self-interference components. This decomposition also explains why the predicted delay differs in the limiting cases observed by Steinberg and Chiao.