Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Physical Review Letters

Potential for Mixing in Quantum Chaos

Satoshi Adachi, Mikito Toda, Kensuke S. Ikeda

Published Aug 8, 1988• 39 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A study of time reversibility reveals that a quantum chaotic system manifests the same potential for mixing as its classical counterpart under the influence of externally applied noise. The quantum-chaotic system, however, reveals its own nature below a quite small "classicalization" threshold of noise intensity: In the case of the kicked rotor there exists a quite wide regime for which the mixing property is understood neither from classical dynamics nor from quantum perturbation theory. The relationship between such a curious behavior and the pure quantum evolution without the noise is elucidated.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.61.655

Related papers

Quantum-Classical Correspondence in Many-Dimensional Quantum Chaos

Satoshi Adachi, Mikito Toda, Kensuke S. Ikeda

Quantum-classical correspondence in many-dimensional quantum chaos is investigated by use of a coupled quantum kicked-rotors model. Even when the number of rotors is only two, results obtained are drastically different from those for a single-rotor system; that is, in the semiclassical limit the coupled system restores the essential features of classical chaos under appropriate conditions. In particular, the time-reversal experiment reveals that the classical chaotic mixing is recovered almost entirely; however, the recovered mixing is "conditional" in the sense that there exists a threshold for the recovery.

Physical Review Letters•Aug 8, 1988•82 citations

Time irreversibility of classically chaotic quantum dynamics

Giulio Casati, Boris V. Chirikov

The nature of classically chaotic quantum dynamics is studied by menas of a numerical time reversal experiment. It turns out that there is a fundamental quantum scale below which the system cannot exhibit classical irreversibility to external perturbations. On the other hand, a paradoxical phenomenon manifesting that quantum irreversibility may exceed its classical counterpart is discovered. These features are explained in terms of semicalssical dynamical theory. Introduction Classically chaotic quantum systems in general can exhibit intrinsinc chaotic behaviour on a quite restricted time scale [1], In particular localization phenomena provide direct evidence exhibiting the suppression of quantum ergodicity [2]. On the other hand, recent studies reveal that a many-dimensional system can mimic some aspects peculiar to chaotic dynamics quite well on an unexpectedly long time scale [3]. A remarkable feature that distinguishes chaotic motion from integrable motion is the sensitive dependence of dynamics on external perturbations. For classical dynamical systems such a sensitivity can be well defined by measuring how two nearby trajectories in the phase space separate in time. However, there has been proposed no systematic way to examine the sensitivity of quantum dynamics to external perturbation. In quantum dynamics, it is not possible to trace a well defined trajectory in phase space, because both quantum uncertainty and chaotic instability make a localized wavepacket spread suddenly over the phase space [4]. There is, however, a simple way in which we may test the quantum sensitivity quantitively. This is the time reversal experiment described below. In this chapter I describe several remarkable characteristics of quantal instability which have been clarified by the time reversal experiment.

Cambridge University Press eBooks•Apr 27, 1995•4 citations

Quantum Chaos as an Essential Resource for Full Quantum State Controllability

Lukas Beringer, Mathias Steinhuber, Klaus Richter +1 more

Using the key properties of chaos, i.e. ergodicity and exponential instability, as a resource to control classical dynamics has a long and considerable history. However, in the context of controlling "chaotic" quantum unitary dynamics, the situation is far more tenuous. The classical concepts of exponential sensitivity to trajectory initial conditions and ergodicity do not directly translate into quantum unitary evolution. Nevertheless properties inherent to quantum chaos can take on those roles: i) the dynamical sensitivity to weak perturbations, measured by the fidelity decay, serves a similar purpose as the classical sensitivity to initial conditions; and ii) paired with the fact that quantum chaotic systems are conjectured to be statistically described by random matrix theory, implies a method to translate the ergodic feature into the control of quantum dynamics. With those two properties, it can be argued that quantum chaotic dynamical systems, in principle, allow for full controllability beyond a characteristic time that scales only logarithmically with system size and $\hbar^{-1}$. In the spirit of classical targeting, it implies that it is possible to fine tune the immense quantum interference with weak perturbations and steer the system from any initial state into any desired target state, subject to constraints imposed by conserved quantities. In contrast, integrable dynamics possess neither ergodicity nor exponential instability, and thus the weak perturbations apparently must break the integrability for control purposes. The main ideas are illustrated with the quantum kicked rotor. The production of revivals, cat-like entangled states, and the transition from any random state to any other random state is possible as demonstrated.

quant-pharXiv:2512.13384•Dec 16, 2025•0 citations

Decoherence, delocalization, and irreversibility in quantum chaotic systems

K. Shiokawa, B. L. Hu

Decoherence in quantum systems which are classically chaotic is studied. The Arnold cat map and the quantum kicked rotor are chosen as examples of linear and nonlinear chaotic systems. The Feynman-Vernon influence functional formalism is used to study the effect of the environment on the system. It is well known that quantum coherence can obliterate chaotic behavior in the corresponding classical system. But interaction with an environment can under general circumstances quickly diminish quantum coherence and reenact classical chaotic behavior. How effectively decoherence works to sustain chaos, and how the resultant behavior qualitatively differs from the quantum picture, depending on the coupling of the system with the environment and the spectral density and temperature of the environment. We show how recurrence in the quantum cat map is lost and classical ergodicity is recovered due to the effect of the environment. Quantum coherence and diffusion suppression are instrumental to dynamical localization for the kicked rotor. We show how environment-induced effects can destroy this localization. Such effects can also be understood as resulting from external noises driving the system. Peculiar to decohering chaotic systems is the apparent transition from reversible to irreversible dynamics. We show such transitions in the quantum cat map and the kicked rotor and distinguish it from apparent irreversibility originating from dynamical instability and imprecise measurements. By performing a time reversal on and following the quantum kicked rotor dynamics numerically, we show how the otherwise reversible quantum dynamics acquires an arrow of time upon the introduction of noise or interaction with an environment.

arXiv:chao-dyn/9503009•Physical review. E, Statistical physics, plasmas, fluids, and related interdisciplinary topics•Sep 1, 1995•42 citations

The Quantum Kicked Rotor: A Paradigm of Quantum Chaos. Foundational aspects and new perspectives

Giuliano Benenti, Giulio Casati, Jiangbin Gong +1 more

The kicked rotor provides a simple yet powerful model for introducing many of the central concepts of classical and quantum chaos. Despite its apparent simplicity, it exhibits rich dynamical behavior and has found applications across a wide range of fields, including atomic and optical physics, condensed matter physics, and emerging quantum technologies. This chapter begins by exploring foundational ideas using the kicked rotor as a unifying framework. We first discuss the transition from regular to chaotic motion in the classical system, and then introduce key quantum phenomena such as dynamical localization and quantum resonances. Special attention is devoted to the emergence of characteristic time scales and their role in the quantum-classical correspondence. To make these ideas more concrete, we also provide a brief overview of experimental realizations of the kicked rotor and its variants, illustrating how theoretical concepts are implemented in practice. In the second part of the chapter, we guide the reader toward more recent and advanced developments. Topics include near-resonant dynamics, topological features of kicked systems, the emergence of quantum dynamical phases inferred from classical transport properties, and extensions to non-Hermitian physics. We conclude with a discussion of open problems and future perspectives, outlining directions in which the kicked rotor continues to offer valuable insights.

quant-pharXiv:2604.12316•Apr 15, 2026•0 citations

Quantum to Classical Transition by a Classically Small Interaction

Wen-Lei Zhao, Jie Quan-Lin, Bo Zhou

We investigate the quantum-classical transition of a kicked rotor (KR) under perturbation by a second one. The influence of such a chaotic KR makes decoherence of the first one, resulting in the emergence of classical diffusion from its quantum dynamics. Such quantum-classical transition persists by decreasing the effective Planck's constant ℏ, and at the same time, decreasing the mass of the second KR and the interaction strength proportionally. In the limit of ħ → 0, due to vanishing small mass and interaction, the second KR has almost no effect on the classical dynamics of the first one. We demonstrate this via two different coupling potentials.

Communications in Theoretical Physics•Aug 1, 2010•10 citations
A study of time reversibility reveals that a quantum chaotic system manifests the same potential for mixing as its classical counterpart under the influence of externally applied noise. The quantum-chaotic system, however, reveals its own nature below a quite small "classicalization" threshold of noise intensity: In the case of the kicked rotor there exists a quite wide regime for which the mixing property is understood neither from classical dynamics nor from quantum perturbation theory. The relationship between such a curious behavior and the pure quantum evolution without the noise is elucidated.
Quantum-classical correspondence in many-dimensional quantum chaos is investigated by use of a coupled quantum kicked-rotors model. Even when the number of rotors is only two, results obtained are drastically different from those for a single-rotor system; that is, in the semiclassical limit the coupled system restores the essential features of classical chaos under appropriate conditions. In particular, the time-reversal experiment reveals that the classical chaotic mixing is recovered almost entirely; however, the recovered mixing is "conditional" in the sense that there exists a threshold for the recovery.
The nature of classically chaotic quantum dynamics is studied by menas of a numerical time reversal experiment. It turns out that there is a fundamental quantum scale below which the system cannot exhibit classical irreversibility to external perturbations. On the other hand, a paradoxical phenomenon manifesting that quantum irreversibility may exceed its classical counterpart is discovered. These features are explained in terms of semicalssical dynamical theory. Introduction Classically chaotic quantum systems in general can exhibit intrinsinc chaotic behaviour on a quite restricted time scale [1], In particular localization phenomena provide direct evidence exhibiting the suppression of quantum ergodicity [2]. On the other hand, recent studies reveal that a many-dimensional system can mimic some aspects peculiar to chaotic dynamics quite well on an unexpectedly long time scale [3]. A remarkable feature that distinguishes chaotic motion from integrable motion is the sensitive dependence of dynamics on external perturbations. For classical dynamical systems such a sensitivity can be well defined by measuring how two nearby trajectories in the phase space separate in time. However, there has been proposed no systematic way to examine the sensitivity of quantum dynamics to external perturbation. In quantum dynamics, it is not possible to trace a well defined trajectory in phase space, because both quantum uncertainty and chaotic instability make a localized wavepacket spread suddenly over the phase space [4]. There is, however, a simple way in which we may test the quantum sensitivity quantitively. This is the time reversal experiment described below. In this chapter I describe several remarkable characteristics of quantal instability which have been clarified by the time reversal experiment.
Using the key properties of chaos, i.e. ergodicity and exponential instability, as a resource to control classical dynamics has a long and considerable history. However, in the context of controlling "chaotic" quantum unitary dynamics, the situation is far more tenuous. The classical concepts of exponential sensitivity to trajectory initial conditions and ergodicity do not directly translate into quantum unitary evolution. Nevertheless properties inherent to quantum chaos can take on those roles: i) the dynamical sensitivity to weak perturbations, measured by the fidelity decay, serves a similar purpose as the classical sensitivity to initial conditions; and ii) paired with the fact that quantum chaotic systems are conjectured to be statistically described by random matrix theory, implies a method to translate the ergodic feature into the control of quantum dynamics. With those two properties, it can be argued that quantum chaotic dynamical systems, in principle, allow for full controllability beyond a characteristic time that scales only logarithmically with system size and ℏ−1\hbar^{-1}ℏ−1. In the spirit of classical targeting, it implies that it is possible to fine tune the immense quantum interference with weak perturbations and steer the system from any initial state into any desired target state, subject to constraints imposed by conserved quantities. In contrast, integrable dynamics possess neither ergodicity nor exponential instability, and thus the weak perturbations apparently must break the integrability for control purposes. The main ideas are illustrated with the quantum kicked rotor. The production of revivals, cat-like entangled states, and the transition from any random state to any other random state is possible as demonstrated.
Decoherence in quantum systems which are classically chaotic is studied. The Arnold cat map and the quantum kicked rotor are chosen as examples of linear and nonlinear chaotic systems. The Feynman-Vernon influence functional formalism is used to study the effect of the environment on the system. It is well known that quantum coherence can obliterate chaotic behavior in the corresponding classical system. But interaction with an environment can under general circumstances quickly diminish quantum coherence and reenact classical chaotic behavior. How effectively decoherence works to sustain chaos, and how the resultant behavior qualitatively differs from the quantum picture, depending on the coupling of the system with the environment and the spectral density and temperature of the environment. We show how recurrence in the quantum cat map is lost and classical ergodicity is recovered due to the effect of the environment. Quantum coherence and diffusion suppression are instrumental to dynamical localization for the kicked rotor. We show how environment-induced effects can destroy this localization. Such effects can also be understood as resulting from external noises driving the system. Peculiar to decohering chaotic systems is the apparent transition from reversible to irreversible dynamics. We show such transitions in the quantum cat map and the kicked rotor and distinguish it from apparent irreversibility originating from dynamical instability and imprecise measurements. By performing a time reversal on and following the quantum kicked rotor dynamics numerically, we show how the otherwise reversible quantum dynamics acquires an arrow of time upon the introduction of noise or interaction with an environment.
The kicked rotor provides a simple yet powerful model for introducing many of the central concepts of classical and quantum chaos. Despite its apparent simplicity, it exhibits rich dynamical behavior and has found applications across a wide range of fields, including atomic and optical physics, condensed matter physics, and emerging quantum technologies. This chapter begins by exploring foundational ideas using the kicked rotor as a unifying framework. We first discuss the transition from regular to chaotic motion in the classical system, and then introduce key quantum phenomena such as dynamical localization and quantum resonances. Special attention is devoted to the emergence of characteristic time scales and their role in the quantum-classical correspondence. To make these ideas more concrete, we also provide a brief overview of experimental realizations of the kicked rotor and its variants, illustrating how theoretical concepts are implemented in practice. In the second part of the chapter, we guide the reader toward more recent and advanced developments. Topics include near-resonant dynamics, topological features of kicked systems, the emergence of quantum dynamical phases inferred from classical transport properties, and extensions to non-Hermitian physics. We conclude with a discussion of open problems and future perspectives, outlining directions in which the kicked rotor continues to offer valuable insights.
We investigate the quantum-classical transition of a kicked rotor (KR) under perturbation by a second one. The influence of such a chaotic KR makes decoherence of the first one, resulting in the emergence of classical diffusion from its quantum dynamics. Such quantum-classical transition persists by decreasing the effective Planck's constant ℏ, and at the same time, decreasing the mass of the second KR and the interaction strength proportionally. In the limit of ħ → 0, due to vanishing small mass and interaction, the second KR has almost no effect on the classical dynamics of the first one. We demonstrate this via two different coupling potentials.