Landau-Zener tunneling problem for Bloch states

Abstract

We study the Landau-Zener tunneling problem for particles bound in periodic lattice insulators. To this end, we construct the path integral based on the Bloch and Wannier functions in the presence with an external force, and the transition amplitude is calculated for the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model. We find that the tunneling probability in bulk periodic systems becomes drastically larger than that by the Landau-Zener formula. This enhancement is prominent for small values of the external field or small hopping integral compared with the gap, and comes from the difference between the Dirac and the periodic dispersions. In addition, when the lattice effect is strong, another analytical formula of the tunneling probability is given with a different behavior from the Landau-Zener formula. Finally, we discuss the observation scheme for the lattice effect.