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arXiv:1903.11786

Breakdown of agreement between non-relativistic and relativistic quantum dynamical predictions for the periodically kicked rotor

Boon Leong Lan, Rui Jian Chu

Published Mar 28, 2019• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

As an extension of our recent work (Results in Physics 12, 147-152 (2019)), we show, both theoretically and numerically, that the breakdown of agreement between the non-relativistic and relativistic quantum dynamical predictions in the non-relativistic regime also occurs for an electron subjected to a time-dependent force.
DOI
10.48550/arxiv.1903.11786

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We show, both analytically and numerically, that the non-relativistic and relativistic quantum predictions for the dynamics of a prototypical driven electron – the periodically kicked rotor – do not always agree in the non-relativistic regime. The surprisingly different quantum predictions could be tested experimentally using ultra-cold fermionic atoms in a periodically-pulsed 1D optical lattice. Similar breakdown of agreement should occur for driven quantum systems in general. Since the relativistic theory should be empirically correct, it must be used instead of the approximate non-relativistic theory to correctly study the quantum dynamics of a driven system after the breakdown time, which could lead to important contributions in a wide range of fields from atomic to molecular, chemical and condensed-matter physics.
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