English

Zitterbewegung of electronic wave packets in semiconductor nanostructures

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics 2007-05-23 v2 Quantum Physics

Abstract

We study the zitterbewegung of electronic wave packets in III-V zinc-blende semiconductor quantum wells due to spin-orbit coupling. Our results suggest a direct experimental proof of this fundamental effect, confirming a long-standing theoretical prediction. For electron motion in a harmonic quantum wire, we numerically and analytically find a resonance condition maximizing the zitterbewegung.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.cond-mat/0410321,
  title  = {Zitterbewegung of electronic wave packets in semiconductor nanostructures},
  author = {John Schliemann and Daniel Loss and R. M. Westervelt},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:cond-mat/0410321},
  year   = {2007}
}

Comments

5 pages, 2 figures included, a few remarks added, to appear in Phys. Rev. Lett