Converting Zitterbewegung Oscillation to Directed Motion

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how to convert Zitterbewegung oscillations into controlled directed motion in Dirac-like systems through resonant modulation, enabling new manipulation techniques for wavepackets.

Contribution

It introduces a method to transform Zitterbewegung oscillations into directed motion via resonant modulation of the Dirac equation, with potential experimental realizations.

Findings

Resonant modulation converts ZB oscillations into directed motion.

Modulation can stop, re-launch, or reverse wavepacket motion.

Predictions are feasible for current trapped-ion experiments.

Abstract

Zitterbewegung oscillation (ZB), namely, the jittering center-of-mass motion predicted by free space Dirac (or Dirac-like) equations, has been studied in several different contexts. It is shown here that ZB can be converted to directed center-of-mass motion by a modulation of the Dirac-like equation, if the modulation is on resonance with the ZB frequency. Tailored modulation may also stop, re-launch or even reverse the directed motion of a wavepacket with negligible distortion. The predictions may be examined by current ZB experiments using trapped-ion systems.