Quantum tunneling in the Wigner representation

Time dependence for barrier penetration is considered in the phase space. An asymptotic phase-space propagator for nonrelativistic scattering on a one-dimensional barrier is constructed. The propagator has a form universal for various initial state preparations and local potential barriers. It is manifestly causal and includes time-lag effects and quantum spreading. Specific features of quantum dynamics which disappear in the standard semiclassical approximation are revealed. The propagator may be applied to calculation of the final momentum and coordinate distributions, for particles transmitted through or reflected from the potential barrier, as well as for elucidating the tunneling time problem. © 1996 The American Physical Society.