Cyclotron enhancement of tunneling

TL;DR

This paper investigates how a perpendicular magnetic field can significantly increase the tunneling decay rate of electrons in quantum wires or thin films by inducing a cyclotron effect that aligns electron velocity with the tunneling direction.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of cyclotron enhancement of tunneling, showing how magnetic fields can dramatically boost tunneling rates in low-dimensional systems.

Findings

Magnetic fields can increase tunneling decay rates by orders of magnitude.

Cyclotron effect causes electron velocity to rotate, aligning with tunneling direction.

Enhanced tunneling occurs when electron velocity is perpendicular to the magnetic field.

Abstract

A state of an electron in a quantum wire or a thin film becomes metastable, when a static electric field is applied perpendicular to the wire direction or the film surface. The state decays via tunneling through the created potential barrier. An additionally applied magnetic field, perpendicular to the electric field, can increase the tunneling decay rate for many orders of magnitude. This happens, when the state in the wire or the film has a velocity perpendicular to the magnetic field. According to the cyclotron effect, the velocity rotates under the barrier and becomes more aligned with the direction of tunneling. This mechanism can be called cyclotron enhancement of tunneling.