On electron channeling and the de Broglie internal clock

TL;DR

This paper investigates electron channeling in silicon crystals and suggests that observed resonances are consistent with quantum mechanical motion described by Dirac's Hamiltonian, linking to the de Broglie internal clock and Zitterbewegung.

Contribution

It demonstrates that classical models require interaction frequencies twice the de Broglie frequency to match experimental results, aligning with Dirac's quantum description.

Findings

Resonance peaks correspond to the Zitterbewegung frequency.

Classical models need doubled interaction frequency for accuracy.

Quantum mechanical description aligns with experimental observations.

Abstract

Electron channeling in silicon crystals has brought forward the possibility of having detected the particle's "de Broglie internal clock", as giving rise to the observed resonance peak at the center of the expected transmission probability dip. A classical multiple scattering calculation fails to represent the experimental results unless, surprisingly, the interaction frequency is twice the de Broglie's clock frequency, that is, the "Zitterbewegung" frequency. In the present paper, the observed characteristics of this process are shown to be consistent with a free particle quantum mechanical motion described by Dirac's Hamiltonian.