Long-term cyclotron dynamics of relativistic wave packets: Spontaneous collapse and revival

• Published in: Physical review. A, Atomic, molecular, and optical physics Atomic, molecular, and optical physics, 2012-02, Vol.85 (2), Article 022105
• Main Authors: Demikhovskii, V. Ya, Maksimova, G. M., Perov, A. A., Telezhnikov, A. V.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Collapse; Cyclotrons; Density; Evolution; Mathematical analysis; Position (location); Relativistic plasmas; Wave packets
• ISSN: 1050-2947; 1094-1622
• DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevA.85.022105

In this work we study the effects of collapse and revival, as well as the zitterbewegung (ZB) phenomenon, for the relativistic electron wave packets, which are a superposition of the states with quantum numbers sharply peaked around some Landau level n sub(0) of the order of few tens. The probability densities as well as average velocities of the packet center and the average spin components were calculated analytically and their evolution is visualized. Our computations demonstrate that due to the dephasing of the states for times larger than the cyclotron period the initial wave packet (which includes the states with the positive energy only) loses the spatial localization so that the evolution can no longer be described classically. However, at the half-revival time t=T sub(R)/2 its reshaping takes place first. It is shown that the behavior of the wave packet containing the states of both energy bands (with E sub(n)>0 and E sub(n)0 only. The obtained results can be useful for the description of electromagnetic radiation and absorption in relativistic plasma on astrophysics objects, where superhigh magnetic field has a value of the order 10 super(8)-10 super(9)T, as well as for interpretation of experiments with trapped ions.