Spin dynamics in tunneling decay of a metastable state
Abstract
We analyze spin dynamics in the tunneling decay of a metastable localized state in the presence of spin-orbit coupling. We find that the spin polarization at short-time scale is affected by the initial state, while at long-time scale both the probability and the spin density exhibit diffraction-in-time phenomenon. We find that in addition to the tunneling time the tunneling in general can be characterized by a new parameter, the tunneling length. Although the tunneling length is independent of the spin-orbit coupling, it can be accessed by the spin rotation measurement.
- Publication:
-
Physical Review A
- Pub Date:
- May 2012
- DOI:
- 10.1103/PhysRevA.85.052130
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1212.3325
- Bibcode:
- 2012PhRvA..85e2130B
- Keywords:
-
- 03.65.Xp;
- 03.75.-b;
- 71.70.Ej;
- Tunneling traversal time quantum Zeno dynamics;
- Matter waves;
- Spin-orbit coupling Zeeman and Stark splitting Jahn-Teller effect;
- Quantum Physics;
- Condensed Matter - Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
- E-Print:
- 6 pages, 7 figures