Quantum mechanical Gaussian wavepackets of single relativistic particles

TL;DR

This paper investigates the evolution of Gaussian wavepackets for relativistic particles described by the Klein-Gordon equation, focusing on their approximation quality, relativistic effects, and charge density behavior.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of Gaussian wavepacket evolution for relativistic particles, highlighting the minimal initial width for good approximation and relativistic length contraction effects.

Findings

Minimal initial width for Gaussian approximation is about the Compton wavelength divided by Lorentz factor.

Relativistic length contraction affects wavepacket spreading.

Charge density can be well approximated by a Gaussian state under certain conditions.

Abstract

We study the evolutions of selected quasi-(1+1) dimensional wavepacket solutions to the Klein-Gordon equation for a relativistic charged particle in uniform motion or accelerated by a uniform electric field in Minkowski space. We explore how good the charge density of a Klein-Gordon wavepacket can be approximated by a Gaussian state with the single-particle interpretation. We find that the minimal initial width of a wavepacket for a good Gaussian approximation in position space is about the Compton wavelength of the particle divided by its Lorentz factor at the initial moment. Relativistic length contraction also manifests in the spreading of the wavepacket's charge density.