We discuss a phenomenon of elementary quantum mechanics that is counterintuitive, non-classical, and apparently not widely known: the reflection of a particle at a downward potential step. In contrast, classically, particles are reflected only at upward steps. The conditions for this effect are that the wavelength is much greater than the width of the potential step and the kinetic energy of the particle is much smaller than the depth of the potential step. The phenomenon is suggested by non-normalizable solutions to the time-independent Schrödinger equation. We present numerical and mathematical evidence that it is also predicted by the time-dependent Schrödinger equation. The paradoxical reflection effect suggests and we confirm mathematically that a particle can be trapped for a long time (though not indefinitely) in a region surrounded by downward potential steps, that is, on a plateau.
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2011
American Association of Physics Teachers
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