Classical model for survival resonances close to Talbot time

Abstract

We present a classical approximation for the peaks of survival resonances occurring when diffracting matter waves from absorption potentials. Generally our simplified model describes the absorption-diffraction process around the Talbot time very well. Classical treatments of this process are presently lacking. For purely imaginary potentials, the classical model duplicates quantum mechanical calculations. The classical model allows for simple evolution of phase-space probability densities, which in the limit of the effective Planck's constant going to zero allows for a compact analytical expression of the survival probability as a function of remaining parameters. Our work extends the range of processes that can be described through classical analogues.