Reflection phase of scattering electrons in a single-channel atomic wire

Summary, in English

A theoretical study of the phase property of the reflection coefficient of a single-channel quantum system is presented. This reflection phase information is required for a complete characterization of the scattering problem in the system. It is found that the phase of the reflection coefficient of the system shifts abruptly by pi when the reflection probability passes through a zero. It is also found that in certain systems this phase discontinuity can appear even when no zero and no phase discontinuity are present in the transmission coefficient. Possible experiments for the observation of the reflection phase discontinuity are discussed.