Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-theoretical-physics-ii-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2013/paper-1/6/d/solution
Past exam of the theoretical physics II course of the University of Cambridge 2013 Paper 1 6 d Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
The negative-kinetic-energy branch is interpreted as an antiparticle channel. In the overlap , particles can escape to the left and oppositely charged antiparticles to the right. This interval exists only when . The external electrostatic source supplies the energy for pair creation; the reflected particle flux can exceed the incident one because the outgoing state need not contain only the incident particle.
The conserved quantity is signed charge current, not a positive one-particle probability in both regions. Negative denotes rightward transport of opposite charge, so it is consistent with and . A quantized charged field with particle and antiparticle creation operators gives the appropriate interpretation of this Klein paradox. This bosonic result must not be replaced by a fermionic reflection law or interpreted as a failure of charge conservation.[ref]
Klein Paradox for Spin-0 Particles by Douglas M. Gingrich. Discussion after equation 4.155: pair creation and the oppositely signed transmitted current
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