ABSTRACT
The propagation of electron wavepackets in deformed crystals is studied semiclassically by formulating the problem purely in terms of local distortions. An effective hamiltonian in which the distortions appear explicitly is derived. It governs the “effective wavefunction” whose absolute square is shown to represent the probability density averaged over the fluctuations within each unit cell. Expressions are obtained for the corresponding current density, similarly averaged, in which the distortion components appear explicitly, and for distortion-modulated operators suitable for studying the dynamics. Magnetic fields are included.
