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Physical review. E, Statistical physics, plasmas, fluids, and related interdisciplinary topics

Chaos and low-order corrections to classical mechanics or geometrical optics

Bala Sundaram, Peter W. Milonni

Published Mar 1, 1995• 47 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Based on simple first-order quantum corrections to classical equations of motion, which we show to be closely related to Gaussian wave-packet dynamics (GWD) and a time-dependent variational principle (TDVP), we deduce that quantum corrections to classical dynamics should typically become most pronounced when the classical system becomes chaotic. The time duration over which classical dynamics, GWD, or TDVP may provide good approximations is much shorter when the classical dynamics are chaotic. However, for certain situations involving very short laser pulses, these approximations can be very accurate. The same concepts are applicable to paraxial wave optics, which may offer simpler experimental studies of ``quantum chaos'': the distinction between classical and ``quantum'' chaos is in large part the distinction between ray versus wave behavior.

DOI
10.1103/physreve.51.1971

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Based on simple first-order quantum corrections to classical equations of motion, which we show to be closely related to Gaussian wave-packet dynamics (GWD) and a time-dependent variational principle (TDVP), we deduce that quantum corrections to classical dynamics should typically become most pronounced when the classical system becomes chaotic. The time duration over which classical dynamics, GWD, or TDVP may provide good approximations is much shorter when the classical dynamics are chaotic. However, for certain situations involving very short laser pulses, these approximations can be very accurate. The same concepts are applicable to paraxial wave optics, which may offer simpler experimental studies of quantum chaos'': the distinction between classical and quantum'' chaos is in large part the distinction between ray versus wave behavior.
Dynamical chaos has recently been shown to exist in the Gaussian approximation in quantum mechanics and in the self-consistent mean field approach to studying the dynamics of quantum fields. In this study, we first note that any variational approximation to the dynamics of a quantum system based on the Dirac action principle leads to a classical Hamiltonian dynamics for the variational parameters. Since this Hamiltonian is generically nonlinear and nonintegrable, the dynamics thus generated can be chaotic, in distinction to the exact quantum evolution. We then restrict our attention to a system of two biquadratically coupled quantum oscillators and study two variational schemes, the leading order large-NNN (four canonical variables) and Hartree (six canonical variables) approximations. The chaos seen in the approximate dynamics is an artifact of the approximations: this is demonstrated by the fact that its onset occurs on the same characteristic time scale as the breakdown of the approximations when compared to numerical solutions of the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation.
I compare the quantum and classical dynamics of a particle moving in a cosine potential while subject to a time-dependent force. I concentrate here on the behavior of an initially well-localized wave packet at times before the classically chaotic motion is fully developed. I find that the quantum and classical dynamics are indistinguishable well beyond the Ehrenfest time where the wave packet delocalizes. The quantum and classical descriptions first differ precisely when the classical probability density is folded in the vicinity of a hyperbolic fixed point. At this point, the wave function acquires a nodal structure which I show to be the result of a simple beating phenomenon between paths in the semiclassical propagator. When the interaction of the classical manifold with the hyperbolic fixed point leads to escape from the remnant separatrix, representing the onset of classical chaos, the interference associated with the tendril leads to a long-lived accumulation of quantum amplitude on top of the cosine barrier. This effect also has a semiclassical interpretation, meaning that it arises from the interference between classical paths, but one must expand to second order in Planck's constant to describe the behavior correctly. Both the nodal structure and this pinning of amplitude on the barrier are dynamic mechanisms for the quantum inhibition of mixing. I then couple the system to a bath of harmonic oscillators in order to study the effect of the environment on these mechanisms. Although an oscillator bath environment brings dissipation as well as noise to the problem, the noise effect dominates for the high temperature, weak coupling regime I study. When there is sufficient noise to render the interfering classical paths indistinguishable, I find that the quantum interference gets erased. This dephasing occurs at very early times, long before there is appreciable dissipation of energy to the environment. Consequently, one can argue that the presence of an environment, even if its effect would be negligible in a nonchaotic setting, allows for the possibility of quantum mixing.
We discuss the stability of quantum motion under system's perturbations in the light of the corresponding classical behavior. In particular we focus our attention on the so called "fidelity" or Loschmidt echo, its relation with the decay of correlations, and discuss the quantum-classical correspondence. We then report on the numerical simulation of the double-slit experiment, where the initial wave-packet is bounded inside a billiard domain with perfectly reflecting walls. If the shape of the billiard is such that the classical ray dynamics is regular, we obtain interference fringes whose visibility can be controlled by changing the parameters of the initial state. However, if we modify the shape of the billiard thus rendering classical (ray) dynamics fully chaotic, the interference fringes disappear and the intensity on the screen becomes the (classical) sum of intensities for the two corresponding one-slit experiments. Thus we show a clear and fundamental example in which transition to chaotic motion in a deterministic classical system, in absence of any external noise, leads to a profound modification in the quantum behavior.
The evolution of wave packets under the influence of a Hénon–Heiles potential has been investigated by direct numerical solution of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation. Coherent state Gaussians with a variety of mean positions and momenta were selected as initial wave functions. Three types of diagnostics were used to identify chaotic behavior, namely, phase space trajectories computed from the expected values of coordinates and momenta, the correlation function P(t)=‖〈ψ(0)‖ψ(t)〉‖2, and the uncertainty product or phase space volume V(t)=ΔxΔyΔpxΔpy. The three approaches lead to a consistent interpretation of the system’s behavior, which tends to become more chaotic as the energy expectation value of the wave packet increases. The behavior of the corresponding classical system, however, is not a reliable guide to regular or chaotic behavior in the quantum mechanical system.
We report on the numerical simulation of the double-slit experiment, where the initial wave packet is bounded inside a billiard domain with perfectly reflecting walls. If the shape of the billiard is such that the classical ray dynamics is regular, we obtain interference fringes whose visibility can be controlled by changing the parameters of the initial state. However, if we modify the shape of the billiard thus rendering classical (ray) dynamics fully chaotic, the interference fringes disappear and the intensity on the screen becomes the (classical) sum of intensities for the two corresponding one-slit experiments. Thus we show a clear and fundamental example in which transition to chaotic motion in a deterministic classical system, in absence of any external noise, leads to a profound modification in the quantum behavior.
It is shown that application of the time-dependent variational principle to trial wave functions of a particular form results in a description of the quantum system as a classical system consisting of two mutually interacting parts: the ordinary classical analog of the quantum system and a (generally finite) number of additional degrees of freedom. This holds out the prospect of simulating quantum dynamics by coupling the corresponding classical system to additional degrees of freedom, and it is pointed out that such calculations have, in effect, already been performed. Since the trial wave functions that qualify for this treatment may be arbitrarily accurate, there is no limitation to the accuracy of the resulting classical description. In a particular case, the canonical coordinates and momenta for all degrees of freedom of the overall classical system are identified and investigated. In general, certain parameters appearing in the trial wave functions treated in this work may become redundant at certain times, leading to singularities in the Hamiltonian equations of motion. It is shown, however, that in certain such cases, a classical formalism for the quantum dynamics remains valid if the Hamiltonian function is suitably modified. Calculations applying the present Hamiltonian formalism are carried out that demonstrate that it has better convergence properties than an alternative, nonvariational, Hamiltonian technique suggested by previous work. These numerical studies also suggest that the observed spreading of wave packets and development of complicated structure in wave functions may be interpreted classically in terms of energy transfer among the various degrees of freedom in the overall classical system.