Journal des lasers, optiques et photoniques

On the universal tunneling time - Gunter Nimtz - University of Cologne

Abstract

Gunter Nimtz

Tunneling is a crucial physical process. The observation that particles surmount a high mountain in spite of the very fact that they do not have the required energy can't be explained by classical physics. However, this so called tunneling became allowed by quantum physics. Experimental tunneling study with dissimilar photonic barrier from microwave frequencies up to ultraviolet frequencies piercing towards a universal tunneling time. Experiments and calculations have shown that the tunneling time of opaque photonic barriers (optical mirrors, e.g.) equals approximately the reciprocal frequency of the corresponding electromagnetic radiation. The tunneling process is described by virtual photons.