2/26/2018 Does quantum tunneling take time or is it instantaneous?

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Does quantum tunneling take time or is it

instantaneous?
Michael Irving | August 7th, 2017

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Researchers at the Max Planck Institute have determined how long it takes electrons to
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In the weird world of quantum physics, it's not unusual for particles to
tunnel through barriers that under normal circumstances they shouldn't be
able to pass through. While this process, called quantum tunneling, is well In pictures: Innovation and
documented, physicists haven't been able to figure out if it happens idiosyncrasies at the 2018
North American Handmade
instantaneously or takes a given amount of time. Now a team from the Max
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Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics has an answer.

The most common analo y used to explain this quirky quantum

phenomenon is a ball rolling over a hill. Normally, the ball needs a certain
amount of ener y to push it up and over, otherwise it's stuck at the bottom.
It's simple. But in quantum physics, there's a chance that the ball could
randomly move to the other side of the hill, through a process called
Shipping containers turned
quantum tunneling. This has been well documented for decades:
into green-roofed weekend
elementary particles escaping from atoms is one of the key drivers behind retreat
radioactive decay.

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2/26/2018 Does quantum tunneling take time or is it instantaneous?

The part of the process still up for debate is the timescale involved for the
particle to tunnel to freedom. There are two theories: the "simple man"
model says that it happens instantly, so the escaping electron will just
appear at the exit of the tunnel with no velocity. But in 1955, physicist
Eugene Wigner proposed the idea that it takes a finite (albeit short) amount
of time for the particle to make the journey.

To investigate, the Max Planck team induced quantum tunneling of

electrons in atoms, and then measured the time (if any) it took them to do
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To induce quantum tunneling, the scientists blasted a gas mixture of RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

krypton and argon atoms with short laser pulses. This temporarily weakens
the electric field that binds the electrons in place, increasing the probability
that one of them will tunnel out. The trajectory of the electron's exit from
the nucleus is guided by the laser's electric field, and in this particular
experiment, the laser beam is rotating, which causes the "ener y pot"
containing the electrons to rotate too.

That means that the team can now settle the question by measuring the
trajectory the electron takes as it zips away. Essentially, if it takes any time
at all for the particle to tunnel, the ener y pot will have rotated slightly by
the time it exits, sending it off on a different course than if it happened
instantaneously.

To measure the time it takes an electron to quantum tunnel, the researchers hit atoms
with short laser pulses that were rotating. If it took zero time (simple man model), the electron

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2/26/2018 Does quantum tunneling take time or is it instantaneous?
would be unaffected, but if it took any time at all (Wigner model) the trajectory would be
skewed (Credit: PRL 2017/MPI for Nuclear Physics)

Using krypton and argon atoms was also key to tracking the difference in
trajectory. These atoms have different barrier heights and tunnel lengths,
meaning their trajectories should be slightly different if time is a factor. If,
however, the tunnel time is zero, they should follow the exact same path.

Sure enough, the researchers found that time does play a role in the
process. In their experiments, the electrons took between 80 and 180
attoseconds – a billionth of a billionth of a second – to make the trip,
confirming Wigner's long-standing theory.

The research was published in the journal Physical Review Letters.

Source: Max Planck Institute

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