A general solution to the "shutter" problem is presented. The propagation of an arbitrary initially bounded wavefunction is investigated, and the general solution for any such function is formulated. It is shown that the exact solution can be written as an expression that depends only on the values of the function (and its derivatives) at the boundaries. In particular, it is shown that at short times ( h / 2 2 mx t << , where x is the distance to the boundaries) the wavefunction propagation depends only on the wavefunction's values (or its derivatives) at the boundaries of the region. Finally, we generalize these findings to a non-singular wavefunction (i.e., for wavepackets with finite-width boundaries) and suggest an experimental verification.

By varying the absorption coefficient and width of an intralipid-India ink solution in a quasi one-dimensional experiment, the transition between the ballistic and the diffusive regimes is investigated. The medium's attenuation coefficient changes abruptly between two different values within a single mean-free-path. This problem is analyzed both experimentally and theoretically, and it is demonstrated that the transition location depends on the scattering coefficient as well as on the measuring solid angle.

We describe the dynamics of a bound state of an attractive δ-well under displacement of the potential. Exact analytical results are presented for the suddenly moved potential. Since this is a quantum system, only a fraction of the initially confined wave function remains confined to the moving potential. However, it is shown that besides the probability to remain confined to the moving barrier and the probability to remain in the initial position, there is also a certain probability for the particle to move at double speed. A quasi-classical interpretation for this effect is suggested. The temporal and spectral dynamics of each one of the scenarios is investigated.

The tunneling through an opaque barrier with a strong oscillating component is investigated. It is shown, that in the strong perturbations regime (in contrast to the weak one), higher perturbations rate does not necessarily improve the activation. In fact, in this regime two rival factors play a role, and as a consequence, this tunneling system behaves like a sensitive frequency-shifter device: for most incident particles' energies activation occurs and the particles are energetically elevated , while for specific energies activation is depressed and the transmission is very low. This effect is unique to the strong perturbation regime, and it is totally absent in the weak perturbation case. Moreover, it cannot be deduced even in the adiabatic regime. It is conjectured that this mechanism can be used as a frequency-dependent transistor, in which the device's transmission is governed by the external field frequency.

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An approximation is elaborated for the paraxial propagation of diffracted beams, with both one-and twodimensional cross sections, which are released from apertures with sharp boundaries. The approximation applies to any beam under the condition that the thickness of its edges is much smaller than any other length scale in the beam's initial profile. The approximation can be easily generalized for any beam whose initial profile has several sharp features. Therefore, this method can be used as a tool to investigate the diffraction of beams on complex obstacles. The analytical results are compared to numerical solutions and experimental findings, which demonstrates high accuracy of the approximation. For an initially uniform field confined by sharp boundaries, this solution becomes exact for any propagation distance and any sharpness of the edges. Thus, it can be used as an efficient tool to represent the beams, produced by series of slits with a complex structure, by a simple but exact analytical solution.

The dynamics of an initially sharp-boundary wave packet in the presence of an arbitrary potential barrier is investigated. It is shown that the penetration through the barrier is universal in the sense that it depends only on the values of the wave function and its derivatives at the boundary. The dependence on the derivatives vanishes at long distances from the barrier, where the dynamics is governed solely by the initial value of the wave function at the boundary.

Ultrasound modulated light for optical tomography is very useful, since it can provide three-dimensional data with minimal mathematical processing. Although several experimental studies have shown the potential of this method, the link between the ultrasound location and the modulated signal intensity at the detector is not yet fully understood. We derive an analytical formula relating the position of the ultrasound transducer and the optical signal at the detector. We also derive an expression for the signal-to-shot-noise ratio as a function of the transducer position. We show that in certain conditions this ratio is only slowly decreasing as a function of the light penetration depth, which makes this technique attractive for optical tomography.