2006/06/30 by O. Panella, Y. N. Srivastava, A. Widom · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #Laser-Matter Interactions and Applications #Laser-Plasma Interactions and Diagnostics #quant-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1142/s0217751x06031582
published as International Journal of Modern Physics A, 21, 3279 - 3288, (2006) · RevTex4, 4pages. Preprint version of a paper published by IJMPA
openalex publication_date 2006/06/30 · arxiv created 2007/11/05 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The well-known Klein paradox for the relativistic Dirac wave equation consists in the computation of possible "negative probabilities" induced by certain potentials in some regimes of energy. The paradox may be resolved by employing the notion of electron–positron pair production in which the number of electrons present in a process can increase. The Klein paradox also exists in the Maxwell's equations viewed as the wave equation for photons. In a medium containing "inverted energy populations" of excited atoms, e.g. in a LASER medium, one may again compute possible "negative probabilities." The resolution of the electromagnetic Klein paradox is that when the atoms decay, the final state may contain more photons then were contained the initial state. The optical theorem total cross-section for scattering photons from excited state atoms may then be computed as negative within a frequency band with matter induced amplification.