Classical and quantum transport through entropic barriers modeled by hardwall hyperboloidal constrictions (Q2271933)

The quantum transport through entropic barriers induced by hardwall constrictions of hyperboloidal shape in two and three spatial dimensions is studied. Using the separability of the Schrödinger equation and the classical equations of motion for these geometries, the quantum transmission probabilities and the associated quantum resonances are investigated in detail. They are related to the classical phase space structures which govern the transport through the constrictions. The classical phase structures are compared to the analogous structures which, as has been shown only recently, govern reaction type dynamics in smooth Hamiltonian systems. Although the systems studied in this paper are special due to their separability they can be taken as a guide to study entropic barriers resulting from constriction geometries that lead to non-separable dynamics. \noindent The separability of the here considered systems facilitates a very detailed, and to a large extend also analytical, study. So it is possible to show that, like in the case of smooth systems, one can construct a dividing surface which has the property that it is crossed exactly once by reactive trajectories, and not crossed at all by non-reactive trajectories. This leads to a rigorous realization of Wigner's transition state theory. Further, it is pointed out that the quantum cumulative reaction probability can be computed exactly from the quantum mechanical flux through the dividing surface. It is found that the systems studied in the paper display, despite of their separability, quite a rich variety of dynamics. In particularly, the transition state of the 3D system involves two different types of modes that are referred to as whispering gallery and bouncing ball modes.