Traversal time in quantum scattering

Abstract

The quantum traversal time $t_{\Omega }$ is obtained as a matrix element of the classical functional in Feynman path-integral technique. The properties of $t_{\Omega }$ and its relation to the observables in scattering experiments are investigated. The general expression for the tunneling time is found in the one-dimensional case. Various traversal times of previous works are shown to be simply related to $t_{\Omega }$ as Re$t_{\Omega }$, Im$t_{\Omega }$, or ‖$t_{\Omega }$‖. Other possible constructions of time parameters describing the motion of a quantum particle are discussed.