Relativistic approach to the tunneling-time problem

I. A. Ivanov and Kyung Taec Kim

Phys. Rev. A 92, 053418 – Published 12 November 2015

Abstract

We report a study of the effect of relativity on the tunneling time for the process of the tunneling ionization. Our results indicate that the relativistic effects make the tunneling time nonzero. A time interval of a few attoseconds is required for the electron to traverse the barrier. This finding agrees with the basic postulate of the special relativity that two events which are in causal relationship cannot occur simultaneously.

Received 2 July 2015

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.92.053418

Authors & Affiliations

I. A. Ivanov^1,2,* and Kyung Taec Kim^1,3

¹Center for Relativistic Laser Science, Institute for Basic Science, Gwangju 500-712, Republic of Korea
²Research School of Physics and Engineering, The Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200, Australia
³Department of Physics and Photon Science, GIST, Gwangju 500-712, Republic of Korea

^*igor.ivanov@anu.edu.au

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Vol. 92, Iss. 5 — November 2015

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