Abstrakt
In this paper we present a method for obtaining the WKB approximation for non-separable multidimensional potentials. At its leading order one has to solve the classical Hamilton-Jacobi equation with zero energy for which a very efficient method is proposed.
The essence of this method lies in the recognition that in the vicinity to the potential minimum the solution of Schrodinger equation has to approach that of coupled harmonic oscillators. Quantum corrections to the semiclassical result are then obtained very easily and to an arbitrarily high order.
The method is applied to the calculation of the tunneling splitting and tunneling lifetime. We show that classical turning points are part of the dynamical problem; they could not be determined simply from looking at the form of the potential, but are obtained from the solution of the pertinent equations of motion.