English

Scattering by an oscillating barrier: quantum, classical, and semiclassical comparison

Quantum Gases 2015-06-05 v1

Abstract

We present a detailed study of scattering by an amplitude-modulated potential barrier using three distinct physical frameworks: quantum, classical, and semiclassical. Classical physics gives bounds on the energy and momentum of the scattered particle, while also providing the foundation for semiclassical theory. We use the semiclassical approach to selectively add quantum-mechanical effects such as interference and diffraction. We find good agreement between the quantum and semiclassical momentum distributions. Our methods and results can be used to understand quantum and classical aspects of transport mechanisms involving time-varying potentials, such as quantum pumping.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1205.1484,
  title  = {Scattering by an oscillating barrier: quantum, classical, and semiclassical comparison},
  author = {Tommy A. Byrd and Megan K. Ivory and Andrew J. Pyle and Seth Aubin and Kevin A. Mitchell and John B. Delos and Kunal K. Das},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1205.1484},
  year   = {2015}
}

Comments

18 pages; 19 figures

R2 v1 2026-06-21T20:59:46.455Z