Mode-coupled barrier-controlled atomic processes in solids: a comparative study

Four basic processes are envisioned, among them migration (diffusion), local rotation (reorientation), isothermic chemical reactions and nucleation. All of them are unified by a common approach to the barrier currents that has been suggested as far back as 1961 by John Bardeen and then extended by Stefan Christov some ten years later. By introducing the respective radial potentials, we incorporate Schroedinger’s equation and thereby a quantum insight into the phenomena. Numerical calculations of the obtained statistical transition rates are reported.