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arXiv:0801.0475 · Physical Review Letters

Observation of Saturation of Fidelity Decay with an Atom Interferometer

Saijun Wu, Alexey Tonyushkin, Mara Goff Prentiss

Published Jul 16, 2009• 37 citations
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Abstract

We use an atom interferometer to investigate the dynamics of matter waves in a periodically pulsed optical standing wave: an atom optics realization of the quantum kicked rotor that exhibits chaotic classical dynamics. We experimentally show that a measure of the coherence between the interferometer diffraction orders can revive after a quick initial loss, and can approach a finite asymptote as the number of kicks increases. This observation demonstrates that quantum fidelity of a classically chaotic system can survive strong perturbations over long times without decay.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.103.034101

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We use an atom interferometer to investigate the dynamics of matter waves in a periodically pulsed optical standing wave: an atom optics realization of the quantum kicked rotor that exhibits chaotic classical dynamics. We experimentally show that a measure of the coherence between the interferometer diffraction orders can revive after a quick initial loss, and can approach a finite asymptote as the number of kicks increases. This observation demonstrates that quantum fidelity of a classically chaotic system can survive strong perturbations over long times without decay.
Quantum systems upon interaction with the environment undergo decoherence or decay towards classical states. The dynamics of the quantum coherence at the borderline between quantum and classical world is not fully understood yet. The quantum coherence is generally known to exponentially decay in time so that macroscopic quantum superpositions are not sustained for a long time. In many practical applications, it is necessary to maintain quantum coherences for as long as possible. In this work, we use the experimental test-bed of cold atoms in a pulsed one-dimensional optical lattice to realise an atom-optics kicked rotator. We manipulate the waiting time between consequent kicks in this system by taking it as a random variable from a L\'{e}vy distribution. In this noisy scenario, we show that coherence can be made to decay slower than an exponential form. This manifests in the form of quantum subdiffusion that can be controlled through the L\'{e}vy exponent. The experimental results are in good agreement with the analytical expressions and numerical simulations for the mean energy growth of atom-optics kicked rotor.
This thesis presents an account of experimental and numerical investigations of two quantum systems whose respective classical analogues are chaotic. These are the delta-kicked rotor, a paradigm in classical chaos theory, and the novel delta-kicked accelerator, created by application of a constant external acceleration or torque to the rotor. The experimental realisation of these systems has been achieved by the exposure of laser-cooled caesium atoms to approximate delta-kicks from a pulsed, high-intensity, vertical standing wave of laser light. Gravity’s effect on the atoms can be controlled by appropriate shifting of the profile of the standing wave. Numerical simulations of the systems are based on a diffractive model of the potential’s effect. Each system’s dynamics are characterised by the final form of the momentum distribution and the dependence of the atoms’ mean kinetic energy on the number and time period of the delta-kicks. The phenomena of dynamical localisation and quantum resonances in the delta-kicked rotor, which have no counterparts in the system’s classical analogue, are observed and investigated. Similar experiments on the delta-kicked accelerator reveal the striking phenomenon of the quantum accelerator mode, in which a large momentum is transferred to a substantial fraction of the atomic ensemble. This feature, absent in the system’s classical analogue, is characterised and an analytic explanation is presented. The effect on each quantum system of decoherence, introduced through spontaneous emission in the atoms, is examined and comparison is made with the results of classical simulations. While having little effect on the classical systems, the level of decoherence used is found to degrade quantum signatures of behaviour. Classical-like behaviour is, to some extent, restored, although significant quantum features remain. Possible applications of the quantum accelerator mode are discussed. These include use as a tool in atom optics and interferometry, a technique for measuring gravity, and a method of preparing atoms in a particular region of phase space. This may allow measurement of quantum phase space stability, and hence investigation of quantum chaos and quantum-classical correspondence.
The understanding of how classical dynamics can emerge in closed quantum systems is a problem of fundamental importance. Remarkably, while classical behavior usually arises from coupling to thermal fluctuations or random spectral noise, it may also be an innate property of certain isolated, periodically driven quantum systems. Here, we experimentally realize the simplest such system, consisting of two coupled, kicked quantum rotors, by subjecting a coherent atomic matter wave to two periodically pulsed, incommensurate optical lattices. Momentum transport in this system is found to be radically different from that in a single kicked rotor, with a breakdown of dynamical localization and the emergence of classical diffusion. Our observation, which confirms a long-standing prediction for many-dimensional quantum-chaotic systems, sheds new light on the quantum-classical correspondence.
We show that the quantum fidelity is accessible to cold atom experiments for a large class of evolutions in periodical potentials, properly taking into account the experimental initial conditions of the atomic ensemble. We prove analytically that, at the fundamental quantum resonances of the atom-optics kicked rotor, the fidelity saturates at a constant, time-independent value after a small number of kicks. The latter saturation arises from the bulk of the atomic ensemble, whilst for the resonantly accelerated atoms the fidelity is predicted to decay slowly according to a power law.