Coupled coherent states method for tunneling dynamics: an interpretative study

Abstract Numerical solutions of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation based on the variational principle may offer physical insight that cannot be gained by a solution using fixed grids in position and momentum space. Here we focus on the tunneling dynamics in a quartic double-well and the use of classical, trajectory-guided coherent states to gain insight into the workings of the coupled coherent states method developed by Shalashilin and Child [J. Chem. Phys. 113, 10028 (2000)]. It is shown that over-the-barrier classical trajectories, alone, can accurately describe the tunneling effect.