Tunneling dynamics of small two-component Fermi systems

Tunneling is an inherently quantum mechanical process. Interactions between particles can speed the single-particle tunneling dynamics up or slow it down; they can also trigger correlated tunneling of pairs or clusters. We will report on our theoretical work in progress on describing the tunneling dynamics of small two-component Fermi systems in an effectively one-dimensional trap. We use the imaginary time evolution to prepare the initial state and real time evolution to simulate the system dynamics. The particle flux out of the trap is monitored and tunneling rates are extracted. We will discuss the numerical techniques such as the alternating direction implicit two-dimensional Crank-Nicholson scheme, its efficiency, and initial results. Extensions to three dimensions (three one-dimensional particles) will be discussed.