Relativistic electron wave packets featuring persistent quantum backflow

Abstract

Closed-form, normalizable solutions of Dirac's equation propagating within a semi-infinite cylindrical waveguide are obtained in terms of ordinary and modified Bessel functions. These relativistic wave packets induce quantum backflow on a cross-section of the cylinder at practically any distance along the waveguide, becoming spin-polarized in the nonrelativistic limit. The predicted backflow is stable in time and is manifest regardless of the initial wave function.