Quantum temporal probabilities in tunneling systems: II. No faster-than-light signals are possible in tunneling

TL;DR

This paper resolves the paradox of superluminal tunneling velocities by applying a novel quantum temporal probability approach, showing that faster-than-light signals are not possible in tunneling, aligning with quantum theory principles.

Contribution

It introduces a new method for quantum time measurement probabilities, clarifying that superluminal tunneling is due to classical misinterpretation, not actual faster-than-light travel.

Findings

Superluminal tunneling speeds are explained as classical misinterpretations.

A new quantum temporal probability method links tunneling time with quantum fields.

Experimental measurements could test quantum theory against hidden-variable theories.

Abstract

In this article, we propose a resolution to the paradox of apparent superluminal velocities for tunneling particles, by a careful treatment of temporal observables in quantum theory and through a precise application of the duality between particles and waves. To this end, we employ a new method for constructing probabilities associated to quantum time measurements that provides an explicit link between the tunneling time of particles and the associated quantum fields. We demonstrate that the idea of faster-than-light speeds in tunneling follows from an inadmissible use of classical reasoning in the description of quantum systems. Our results suggest that direct measurements of the transit time in tunneling could provide a new testing ground for the predictions of quantum theory versus local hidden-variables theories.