Feynman Integral Approach to Absorption in Quantum Mechanics

TL;DR

This paper introduces a Feynman integral-based method to model absorption in quantum mechanics, allowing for various absorption scenarios and applications like slit experiments and particles between absorbing walls.

Contribution

It presents a novel Feynman integral formulation for quantum absorption boundaries, enabling analysis of different absorption modes and practical quantum system applications.

Findings

Derived survival probabilities for absorbing boundaries

Modeled energy-dependent and total absorption scenarios

Applied formalism to slit experiments and particles between walls

Abstract

We propose a formulation of an absorbing boundary for a quantum particle. The formulation is based on a Feynman-type integral over trajectories that are confined by the absorbing boundary. Trajectories that reach the absorbing wall are instantaneously terminated and their probability is discounted from the population of the surviving trajectories. This gives rise to a unidirectional absorption current at the boundary. We calculate the survival probability as a function of time. Several modes of absorption are derived from our formalism: total absorption, absorption that depends on energy levels, and absorption of non-interacting particles. Several applications are given: the slit experiment with an absorbing screen and with absorbing lateral walls, and one dimensional particle between two absorbing walls. The survival probability of a particle between absorbing walls exhibits decay with beats.