Tunneling Confronts Special Relativity

Experiments conducted with evanescent modes and tunneling particles have revealed significant insights into their behavior, notably that their signal velocity can exceed the speed of light. This article aims to summarize findings indicating that the particles involved are best described by virtual particles, exhibit nonlocal properties, and act at a distance. Notably, experimental data on the tunneling of phonons, photons, and electrons shows a universal scattering time at the tunneling barrier front, suggesting these characteristics conflict with the principles of special relativity. The investigation of the tunneling time, which has varied dramatically across different particles and barriers, has established a universal property solely dependent on wave packet frequency. The implications of this research extend into areas such as classical optics, where photonic tunneling can be studied with greater ease than electron behavior. Experimental evidence has confirmed superluminal tunneling velocities dating back to microwaves measured in 1992, fueling ongoing discussions regarding the nature of signal velocities and the transmission of information across barriers. This review collates findings from various comprehensive studies over the past decade, highlighting the necessity of incorporating the dynamics of evanescent modes and tunneling particles into future explorations of relativistic physics.