Radiative transport in a periodic structure with band crossings

Abstract

We use the Wigner transformation and asymptotic analysis to systematically derive the semi-classical model for the Schrödinger equation in arbitrary spatial dimensions, with any periodic structure. Our particular emphasis lies in addressing the \textit{diabatic} effect, i.e., the impact of Bloch band crossings. We consider both deterministic and random scenarios. In the former case, we derive a coupled Liouville system, revealing lower-order interactions among different Bloch bands. In the latter case, a coupled system of radiative transport equations emerges, with the scattering cross-section induced by the random inhomogeneities. As a specific application, we deduce the effective dynamics of a wave packet in graphene with randomness.

Updated version. To appear in SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics