Electrons traversing a Potential well

[go quantum!]

Let's imagine an electron that lives in an one dimensional world where there is a potential well near x=0 and that for x=+inf or -inf the electron is free.
Is there any relation between the transmission coefficient of an electron arriving at the well coming from x=-inf and the transmission coefficient for another electron traversing the other way?
Should they be equal?

 

[Chopin]

If the potential well is symmetric, then it means the entire Hamiltonian is symmetric under parity (space reversal). So there's nothing in the description of the system that could allow the electron to know which direction it's coming from. In that case, the coefficient of transmission should be the same either way.

 

[go quantum!]

it is not symmetric