TUNNELING AS A CLASSICAL ESCAPE RATE INDUCED BY THE VACUUM ZERO-POINT RADIATION

H. M. Franca(1)
R. C. Sponchiado(2)
Instituto de Fisica
Universidade de Sao Paulo

(1) e-mail: hfranca@if.usp.br
(2) e-mail: rodrigo@if.usp.br

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Keywords: Zero-point fluctuations; Foundations of Quantum Mechanics

ABSTRACT We make a brief review of the Kramers escape rate theory for the probabilistic motion of a particle in a potential well U(x), and under the influence of classical fluctuation forces. A modification of the Kramers result is made in order to take into account the action of the thermal and zero-point random electromagnetic fields on a charged particle. The result is physically relevant because we get a non null escape rate over the potential barrier at low temperatures (T-->0). It is found that, even if the mean energy is much smaller than the barrier height, the classical particle can escape from the potential well due to the action of the zero-point fluctuating fields. These stochastic effects can be used to give a classical interpretation to some quantum tunneling phenomena. Relevant experimental data are used to illustrate the theoretical results. PACS: 05.40.-a; 03.65.Sq; 42.50.Lc