On Coherence Lengths of Wave Packets

The coherence lengths of one-particle states described using quantum wave functions are studied. We show that one particle states in various situations are not described using simple plane waves but using wave packets that are superpositions of plane waves. A wave packet is an approximate eigenstate...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Progress of theoretical and experimental physics 2009-11, Vol.122 (5), p.1111-1136
Main Authors: Ishikawa, Kenzo, Tobita, Yutaka
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:The coherence lengths of one-particle states described using quantum wave functions are studied. We show that one particle states in various situations are not described using simple plane waves but using wave packets that are superpositions of plane waves. A wave packet is an approximate eigenstate of the free Hamiltonian and has a finite spatial size that we call the coherence length. The coherence lengths in the coordinate space and momentum space are studied in this paper. We investigate several mechanisms of forming wave packets, stabilities of wave packets, and transformations of wave packets.
ISSN:0033-068X
2050-3911
1347-4081
DOI:10.1143/PTP.122.1111