TRAVERSAL-TIME WAVE-FUNCTION ANALYSIS OF RESONANCE AND NONRESONANCE TUNNELING

A generalized wave function is defined for an arbitrary real functiona l. Properties of the traversal-time wave function are investigated for one-dimensional scattering at a fixed energy. A Heisenberg-type uncer tainty relation is derived from the traversal-time wave function. Trav ersal-time probability distributions for a Larmor clock measurement ar e studied in detail. The high-resolution limit of a traversal-time mea surement is examined. The use of ''fast'' and ''slow'' arguments in a traversal-time analysis is discussed. The systems studied include free motion, resonance, and nonresonance tunneling through a double-delta- function potential, rectangular barrier, absorbing optical potential, and interaction with a slow oscillator.