title: Complex trajectories sans isochrones: quantum barrier scattering with rectilinear constant velocity trajectories.
abstract: One of the major obstacles in employing complex-valued trajectory methods for quantum barrier scattering calculations is the search for isochrones. In this study, complex-valued derivative propagation method trajectories in the arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian frame are employed to solve the complex Hamilton-Jacobi equation for quantum barrier scattering problems employing constant velocity trajectories moving along rectilinear paths whose initial points can be in the complex plane or even along the real axis. It is shown that this effectively removes the need for isochrones for barrier transmission problems. Model problems tested include the Eckart, Gaussian, and metastable quadratic+cubic potentials over a variety of wave packet energies. For comparison, the "exact" solution is computed from the time-dependent Schrodinger equation via pseudospectral methods.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Institute for Theoretical Chemistry, The University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station A5300, Austin, Texas 78712, USA. browland@mail.utexas.edu
authors.forename: Brad A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Rowland
authors.forename: Robert E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Wyatt