We present an analysis of the entangling quantum kicked top focusing on the few qubit case and the initial condition dependence of the time-averaged entanglement S_{Q} for spin-coherent states. We show a very strong connection between the classical phase space and the initial condition dependence of S_{Q} even for the extreme case of two spin-1/2 qubits. This correlation is not related directly to chaos in the classical dynamics. We introduce a measure of the behavior of a classical trajectory which correlates far better with the entanglement and show that the maps of classical and quantum initial-condition dependence are both organized around the symmetry points of the Hamiltonian. We also show clear (quasi-)periodicity in entanglement as a function of number of kicks and of kick strength.
We present an analysis of the entangling quantum kicked top focusing on the few qubit case and the initial condition dependence of the time-averaged entanglement S_{Q} for spin-coherent states. We show a very strong connection between the classical phase space and the initial condition dependence of S_{Q} even for the extreme case of two spin-1/2 qubits. This correlation is not related directly to chaos in the classical dynamics. We introduce a measure of the behavior of a classical trajectory which correlates far better with the entanglement and show that the maps of classical and quantum initial-condition dependence are both organized around the symmetry points of the Hamiltonian. We also show clear (quasi-)periodicity in entanglement as a function of number of kicks and of kick strength.
Quantum kicked top is a fundamental model for time-dependent, chaotic Hamiltonian system and has been realized in experiments as well. As the quantum kicked top can be represented as a system of qubits, it is also popular as a test bed for the study of measures of quantum correlations, such as entanglement, quantum discord, and other multipartite entanglement measures. Further, earlier studies on kicked top have led to a broad understanding of how these measures are affected by the classical dynamical features. In this work, relying on the invariance of quantum correlation measures under local unitary transformations, it is shown exactly these measures display periodic behavior either as a function of time or as a function of the chaos parameter in this system. As the kicked top has been experimentally realized using cold atoms as well as superconducting qubits, it is pointed out that these periodicities must be factored in while choosing experimental parameters so that repetitions can be avoided.
This dissertation sets out to examine some fundamental open questions in quantum physics regarding quantum-classical correspondence in regular versus chaotic systems. Specifically, we study these questions using approaches in quantum information science in an experimentally realized textbook model of quantum chaos - the quantum kicked top (QKT). \n \nThe effect of classical chaos on the generation of entanglement in spin systems has been a field of active research for a couple of decades. Whether high entanglement in these systems is a hallmark of chaos or not remains a widely debated topic. We explain the connection between entanglement and chaos in spin systems and resolve previous conflicting results. The previous studies have mostly drawn conclusions from numerical work on a few initial states in regular versus chaotic regions. We instead focus on stable and unstable periodic orbits because chaos emerges around unstable periodic orbits. We first propose a new set of criteria for determining whether quantum evolution will correspond to the classical trajectory in a localized manner at stable periodic orbits in periodically driven systems. These criteria can be used to calculate the quantum numbers that will lead to quantum-classical correspondence even in a deep quantum regime, and thus to quantify the well-known Bohr correspondence principle. Next, we analytically show a direct connection between entanglement generation and a measure of delocalization of a quantum state in spin systems. More concretely, we describe a method to calculate an upper bound on entanglement generation in any bipartition of spin systems, where the upper bound is a function of trace distance between the evolved state and the most localized classical-like separable states. This method along with our criteria for localized evolution enables us to explain the behaviour of entanglement in both deep quantum and semiclassical regimes for regular as well as chaotic regions. Hence, our analysis resolves the long-standing debates regarding the connection between classical chaos and quantum entanglement in deep quantum and semiclassical regimes. \n \nIn addition to the study of entanglement, we perform the first study of nonlocality, and the effect of chaos on its generation in the QKT. Since nonlocality and entanglement are inequivalent quantum resources, the effect of chaos on nonlocality merits an explicit study. Violations of Bell inequalities in the presence of spacelike separation among the subsystems imply nonlocality - meaning nonlocal correlations between subsystems of the total spin system. We show that the QKT evolution can lead to states that violate multiqubit Bell inequalities and hence provides a deterministic method to prepare nonlocal quantum states. Our numerical results suggest a correlation between delocalized evolution of a pure quantum state and generation of nonlocality in the quantum state. We further demonstrate that dynamical tunnelling - a classically forbidden phenomenon - in the QKT leads to the generation of Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ)-like states for even numbers of qubits. We analytically prove that these states are maximally nonlocal. On the other hand, we numerically show that any reduced state of the QKT obtained by tracing out a subsystem of the total spin system does not violate Bell inequalities. We provide an analytical explanation of the numerical results for 2−qubit reduced states by formulating and proving two general theorems regarding 2−qubit Bell inequalities. These theorems imply that any 2−qubit mixed state having a symmetric extension or symmetric purification cannot violate the Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt inequality. This highlights fundamental connections between two important and distinct concepts in quantum information science - Bell inequalities and symmetric extension of quantum states. \n \nApart from providing deeper insights into the fundamental questions of quantum-classical correspondence and new approaches to analyze quantum chaos, the methods developed in this thesis can be used to design quantum systems that can efficiently generate entanglement and nonlocality. Thus, our results could have interesting applications in quantum computing and quantum information science.
The quantum kicked top (QKT) is one of the most widely studied models in quantum chaos, providing a minimal yet powerful framework for exploring the relationship between classical nonlinear dynamics and quantum behavior. Unlike many chaotic systems with infinite-dimensional Hilbert spaces, the QKT possesses a finite-dimensional Hilbert space, making it analytically and numerically controllable while still showing a rich dynamical phenomena. In this chapter, we present a comprehensive introduction to the QKT as a paradigmatic model of quantum chaos. Starting from the classical kicked top, we derive the discrete nonlinear map governing the dynamics on the unit sphere and analyze its phase space structure through fixed points, stability analysis, bifurcations and Lyapunov exponents. We then discuss the role of symmetries, including rotational and time-reversal symmetry, and how their breaking modifies the dynamics. The quantum description is developed using Floquet theory, where the periodically driven spin system is represented by a unitary Floquet operator acting on a (2j+1)-dimensional Hilbert space. Within this framework, signatures of quantum chaos such as spectral statistics, entanglement generation and recurrences are discussed. The model also admits an interpretation as a system of interacting qubits, enabling explicit few-qubit realizations and direct connections with quantum information measures through reduced density matrices and entanglement entropy. By linking classical phase space structures with quantum dynamical indicators, the QKT provides a clear setting to investigate the emergence of chaotic behavior in the semiclassical limit. The chapter, therefore, highlights the quantum kicked top as a bridge between nonlinear classical dynamics, quantum chaos and modern quantum information science.
The standard kicked top involves a periodically kicked angular momentum. By considering this angular momentum as a collection of entangled spins, we compute the bipartite entanglement dynamics as a function of the dynamics of the classical counterpart. Our numerical results indicate that the entanglement of the quantum top depends on the specific details of the dynamics of the classical top rather than depending universally on the global properties of the classical regime. These results are grounded on linking the entanglement rate to averages involving the classical angular momentum, thereby explaining why regular dynamics can entangle as efficiently as the classically chaotic regime. The findings are in line with previous results obtained with a two-particle top model, and we show here that the standard kicked top can be obtained as a limiting case of the two-particle top.
The double kicked top (DKT) is studied as an extension of the standard quantum kicked top (QKT) model. The model allows us to study the transition from time-reversal symmetric to broken time-reversal symmetric dynamics. A transformation in the kick strength parameter space (k,k^{'})→(k_{r},k_{θ}) reveals interesting features. The transformed kicked strength parameter k_{r} drives a higher growth of chaos and is equivalent to the standard QKT, whereas k_{θ} leads to a weaker growth. Fixed points and their stability are analyzed both analytically and computationally by using the largest Lyapunov exponent and the Kolmogorov-Sinai entropy. Exact solutions are obtained for 2- to 4-qubit version of the DKT, including eigenvalues, eigenvectors, and entanglement dynamics. Criteria for periodicity of the entanglement dynamics is obtained. Quantum correlations are investigated in both deep quantum and semiclassical regime. Signatures of phase-space structure are numerically shown in the long-time averages of the quantum correlations. The homoclinic point and its associated state are also investigated within the semiclassical regime. Our model can be realised experimentally as an extension of the standard QKT.
We comment on the investigation of the connection between chaos and dynamically generated entanglement in Lombardi and Matzkin [Phys. Rev. E 83, 016207 (2011)PRESCM1539-375510.1103/PhysRevE.83.016207]. Whereas, in the referred paper, the authors give an explicit example of a state initially localized in the regular region and still has entanglement properties similar to the states localized in the chaotic region, a few clarifications related to previous works are in order. First, it is crucial to point out that such a behavior can occur for states initially localized near the border between the chaotic region and the regular island, which seems to be the case in the example provided in the referred paper. We comment on the time evolution of such states and the extent to which these can be regarded as having "regular dynamics." Second, the degree to which entanglement is correlated with the chaos in the system is better understood when we analyze the same initial state and increase the chaoticity in the system gradually. We also discuss in what capacity entanglement can be regarded as a signature of chaos in such studies.