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

Chaotic dynamics in billiards using Bohm’s quantum mechanics

O. F. de Alcantara Bonfim, J. Florencio, F. C. Sá Barreto

Published Sep 1, 1998• 27 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The dynamics of a particle in square and circular billiards is studied within the framework of Bohm's quantum mechanics. While conventional quantum mechanics predicts that the system shows no indication of chaotic behavior for these geometries from either the eigenvalue spectra distribution or the structure of the eigenfunctions, we find that in Bohm's quantum mechanics these systems exhibit both regular and chaotic behavior, depending on the form of the initial wave packet and on the particle's initial position.

DOI
10.1103/physreve.58.r2693

Related papers

Quantum chaos in a double square well: An approach based on Bohm’s view of quantum mechanics

O. F. de Alcantara Bonfim, J. Florencio, F. C. Sá Barreto

We study the dynamics of a quantum particle in a double square-well potential within a deterministic framework using Bohm's quantum mechanics. Phase portraits, Fourier spectral analysis, Poincar\'e sections, and Lyapunov exponents clearly indicate that the particle undergoes periodic, quasiperiodic, and chaotic motions depending on the initial form of the wave packet. We also make a detailed comparison between the predictions of the present approach and those of conventional quantum mechanics for the same problem.

Physical review. E, Statistical physics, plasmas, fluids, and related interdisciplinary topics•Nov 1, 1998•26 citations

Quantum chaotic trajectories in integrable right triangular billiards

Juliana Aparecida Sales, J. Florencio

Right triangular billiards are very simple systems that are completely integrable in classical mechanics for acute angle pairs (45 degrees,45 degrees ) and (30 degrees,60 degrees ). In quantum mechanics, the energy level spacing distribution of these billiards are neither Poisson-like nor Wigner-like. We use Bohm's formalism to calculate the trajectories, by numerical methods, for a particle inside these billiards. We use a linear combination of the first three energy states as the initial wave function. We show that a particle can have quasiperiodic or chaotic behavior, depending on its initial position in the billiards.

Physical review. E, Statistical physics, plasmas, fluids, and related interdisciplinary topics•Jan 29, 2003•19 citations

Bohmian Trajectories in a Bistable Potential Well

O. F. de Alcantara Bonfim

We analyze the dynamics of a quantum particle in a one-dimensional bistable potential within the framework of Bohm's quantum mechanics. We give arguments that evidence the fallacy of certain claims found in the literature dealing with the impossibility of chaotic behavior of Bohmian trajectories in one-dimensional systems. We find that an appropriate choice for the initial position and wave packet causes the particle to undergo periodic, quasiperiodic, or chaotic motion. The transitions between these regimes occur in a continuos fashion.

quant-pharXiv:2604.25048•Apr 29, 2026•0 citations

Chaos in Bohmian quantum mechanics

Christos Efthymiopoulos, G. Contopoulos

This paper presents a number of numerical investigations of orbits in the de Broglie–Bohm version of quantum mechanics. We first clarify how the notion of chaos should be implemented in the case of Bohmian orbits. Then, we investigate the Bohmian orbits in three different characteristic quantum systems: (a) superposition of three stationary states in the Hamiltonian of two uncoupled harmonic oscillators with incommensurable frequencies, (b) wave packets in a Hénon–Heiles-type Hamiltonian and (c) a modified two-slit experiment. In these examples, we identify regular or chaotic orbits and also orbits exhibiting a temporarily regular and then chaotic behaviour. Then, we focus on a numerical investigation of the Bohm–Vigier (Bohm and Vigier 1954 Phys. Rev. 26 208) theory, that an arbitrary initial particle distribution P should asymptotically tend to |ψ| 2 , by considering the role of chaotic mixing in causing irregularity of Madelung's flow, a necessary condition for P to tend to |ψ| 2 . We find that the degree of chaos of a particular system correlates with the speed of convergence of P to |ψ| 2 . In the case of wave-packet dynamics, our numerical data show that the time of convergence scales exponentially with the inverse of the effective perturbation from the harmonic oscillator Hamiltonian. The latter result can be viewed as a quantum analogue of Nekhoroshev's (Nekhoroshev 1977 Russ. Math. Surveys 32 1) theorem of exponential stability in classical nonlinear Hamiltonian dynamics.

Journal of Physics A Mathematical and General•Feb 8, 2006•65 citations

Quantum chaos and the double-slit experiment

Giulio Casati, Tomaž Prosen

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.

arXiv:nlin/0403038•Physical Review A•Sep 29, 2005•55 citations

Physical and numerical experiments on the wave mechanics of classically chaotic systems

S. Sridhar, Eric J. Heller

We study chaotic quantum billiards using both microwave cavities and numerical simulations. For the same geometry, viz., a Sinai billiard, agreement to remarkable precision is found for both the eigenvalue magnitudes and the spatial detail of the eigenfunctions. The association of the eigenfunctions with classical periodic orbits is demonstrated, and scarred states are identified. Desymmetrizing the Sinai billiard by slightly moving the central disk is shown to lead to strong localization of the eigenfunction. The calculated eigenstates of the symmetric billiard show an even- and odd-parity pair whose linear combination gives the localized state.

Physical Review A•Aug 1, 1992•88 citations
The dynamics of a particle in square and circular billiards is studied within the framework of Bohm's quantum mechanics. While conventional quantum mechanics predicts that the system shows no indication of chaotic behavior for these geometries from either the eigenvalue spectra distribution or the structure of the eigenfunctions, we find that in Bohm's quantum mechanics these systems exhibit both regular and chaotic behavior, depending on the form of the initial wave packet and on the particle's initial position.
We study the dynamics of a quantum particle in a double square-well potential within a deterministic framework using Bohm's quantum mechanics. Phase portraits, Fourier spectral analysis, Poincar\'e sections, and Lyapunov exponents clearly indicate that the particle undergoes periodic, quasiperiodic, and chaotic motions depending on the initial form of the wave packet. We also make a detailed comparison between the predictions of the present approach and those of conventional quantum mechanics for the same problem.
Right triangular billiards are very simple systems that are completely integrable in classical mechanics for acute angle pairs (45 degrees,45 degrees ) and (30 degrees,60 degrees ). In quantum mechanics, the energy level spacing distribution of these billiards are neither Poisson-like nor Wigner-like. We use Bohm's formalism to calculate the trajectories, by numerical methods, for a particle inside these billiards. We use a linear combination of the first three energy states as the initial wave function. We show that a particle can have quasiperiodic or chaotic behavior, depending on its initial position in the billiards.
We analyze the dynamics of a quantum particle in a one-dimensional bistable potential within the framework of Bohm's quantum mechanics. We give arguments that evidence the fallacy of certain claims found in the literature dealing with the impossibility of chaotic behavior of Bohmian trajectories in one-dimensional systems. We find that an appropriate choice for the initial position and wave packet causes the particle to undergo periodic, quasiperiodic, or chaotic motion. The transitions between these regimes occur in a continuos fashion.
This paper presents a number of numerical investigations of orbits in the de Broglie–Bohm version of quantum mechanics. We first clarify how the notion of chaos should be implemented in the case of Bohmian orbits. Then, we investigate the Bohmian orbits in three different characteristic quantum systems: (a) superposition of three stationary states in the Hamiltonian of two uncoupled harmonic oscillators with incommensurable frequencies, (b) wave packets in a Hénon–Heiles-type Hamiltonian and (c) a modified two-slit experiment. In these examples, we identify regular or chaotic orbits and also orbits exhibiting a temporarily regular and then chaotic behaviour. Then, we focus on a numerical investigation of the Bohm–Vigier (Bohm and Vigier 1954 Phys. Rev. 26 208) theory, that an arbitrary initial particle distribution P should asymptotically tend to |ψ| 2 , by considering the role of chaotic mixing in causing irregularity of Madelung's flow, a necessary condition for P to tend to |ψ| 2 . We find that the degree of chaos of a particular system correlates with the speed of convergence of P to |ψ| 2 . In the case of wave-packet dynamics, our numerical data show that the time of convergence scales exponentially with the inverse of the effective perturbation from the harmonic oscillator Hamiltonian. The latter result can be viewed as a quantum analogue of Nekhoroshev's (Nekhoroshev 1977 Russ. Math. Surveys 32 1) theorem of exponential stability in classical nonlinear Hamiltonian dynamics.
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.
We study chaotic quantum billiards using both microwave cavities and numerical simulations. For the same geometry, viz., a Sinai billiard, agreement to remarkable precision is found for both the eigenvalue magnitudes and the spatial detail of the eigenfunctions. The association of the eigenfunctions with classical periodic orbits is demonstrated, and scarred states are identified. Desymmetrizing the Sinai billiard by slightly moving the central disk is shown to lead to strong localization of the eigenfunction. The calculated eigenstates of the symmetric billiard show an even- and odd-parity pair whose linear combination gives the localized state.