"Wave-Mechanical" Model for the Nonadiabatic Loss of Particles from Magnetic-Mirror Traps

A model is presented which describes the nonadiabatic loss of particles from magnetic mirror traps through a Schrödinger-like equation where the role of $\hslash$ is played by the "first action invariant." The process is thus found to be analogous to the "tunneling effect" in quantum mechanics. The predictions of the model for the lifetimes compare very well with the experimental results.