Exchange interaction radically changes behavior of a quantum particle in a classically forbidden region: simple model

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that exchange interactions significantly alter the decay behavior of localized electron orbitals, leading to power-law decay instead of exponential, with implications for electron ionization processes.

Contribution

The study introduces a simple model to verify the impact of exchange interactions on quantum tunneling, confirming effects beyond the Hartree-Fock approximation.

Findings

Exchange causes power-law decay of electron orbitals at large distances.

Exchange interaction enhances inner electron ionization in strong fields.

The model confirms exchange effects are physically real, not just approximation artifacts.

Abstract

Exchange interaction strongly influences the long-range behavior of localized electron orbitals and quantum tunneling amplitudes.In the Hartree-Fock approximation the exchange produces a power-law decay instead of the usual exponential decrease at large distances. To show that this effect is real (i.e. not a result of the approximation) we consider a simple model where different effects may be accurately analyzed. Applications include huge enhancement of inner electron ionization by a static electric field or laser field considered in Ref. M. Ya. Amusia, arxiv:0904.4395