Approximate quantum cloaking and almost-trapped states.

We describe potentials which act as approximate cloaks for matter waves. These potentials are derived from ideal cloaks for the conductivity and Helmholtz equations. At most energies E, if a potential is surrounded by an approximate cloak, then it becomes almost undetectable and unaltered by matter waves originating externally to the cloak. For certain E, however, the approximate cloaks are resonant, supporting wave functions almost trapped inside the cloaked region and negligible outside. Applications include dc or magnetically tunable ion traps and beam switches.