Classical mechanics and the propagation of the discontinuities of the quantum wave function

Geometrical optics can be regarded both as the short-wavelength approximation of the propagation of electromagnetic waves, and as the exact way in which propagate the surfaces of discontinuity of the classical electromagnetic field. In this work we translate this last idea to quantum mechanics (both...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autor: Luis Aina, Alfredo
Tipo de documento: artigo
Data de publicação:2003
País:España
Recursos:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Repositório:Docta Complutense
Idioma:inglês
OAI Identifier:oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/51524
Acesso em linha:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/51524
Access Level:Acceso aberto
Palavra-chave:535
Electromagnetic missiles
Spherical lens
Potentials
Launcher
Óptica (Física)
2209.19 Óptica Física
Descrição
Resumo:Geometrical optics can be regarded both as the short-wavelength approximation of the propagation of electromagnetic waves, and as the exact way in which propagate the surfaces of discontinuity of the classical electromagnetic field. In this work we translate this last idea to quantum mechanics (both relativistic and nonrelativistic). We find that the surfaces of discontinuity of the wave function propagate exactly following the classical trajectories determined by the Hamilton-Jacobi equation. As an example, we consider the lack of diffraction of abrupt wave fronts.