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Brazilian Journal of Physics

Quantum chaos, dynamical stability and decoherence

Giulio Casati, Tomaž Prosen

Published Jun 1, 2005• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

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.

DOI
10.1590/s0103-97332005000200006

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The Loschmidt echo in classically chaotic systems: Quantum chaos, irreversibility and decoherence

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arXiv:quant-ph/0410121•Oct 15, 2004•8 citations
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.
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 discuss some recent results concerning the decoherence in controlled quantum open systems within the mathematical setting corresponding to motion reversal experiments (the Loschmidt echo).We compare the case of randomly chosen sequence of unitary dynamical maps with the case of a constant dynamics corresponding to a classically chaotic evolution.The interplay between chaos and decoherence is illustrated by the new numerical results on the quantum Arnold cat map perturbed by a measurement process.Open problems related to the simple operational characterization of the decoherence strength are discussed.
The famous Niels Bohr’s quantum–classical correspondence principle states that classical mechanics is a limiting case of the more general quantum mechanics. The quantum laws show up in two different, although not entirely independent ways: Discrete spectrum of finite motion; and Interference phenomena. The specific features of quantum dynamics of classically chaotic systems seem to be in striking contrast with those of genuine classical chaos. The plain two-dimensional areas with closed irregular borders called billiards are pet systems often used to illustrate characteristic features of the classical dynamical chaos. Response of an evolving in time quantum system to a weak external perturbation is of prime interest in the context of the problem of stability and reversibility of quantum motion. The chapter discusses the decoherence phenomenon in the electron transport through an open ballistic quantum dot as the problem is seen from the point of view of the general resonance-scattering theory.
Fidelity is a convenient tool to study the sensitivity of quantum motion under Hamiltonian perturbations. In this paper we first show that classical chaos can produce the dephasing necessary to suppress quantum interference, even in the absence of any environment. To this end we consider the fidelity of mixed states, which takes into account interference amplitudes, and directly relate its decay to the decay of an appropriate classical correlation function, which is totally unrelated to quantum phases. We then discuss the dephasing in a two-qubit system, induced by the coupling to a single-particle, deterministic chaotic environment. The latter is shown to behave as a pure dephasing many-body object which induces decoherence in the system; memory effects are also taken into account.
The famous Nils Bohr's quantum-classical correspondence principle states that the classical mechanics is a limiting case of the more general quantum mechanics. This implies that ``under certain conditions" quantum laws of motion become equivalent to classical laws. One of the conditions is fairly obvious: the corresponding classical action should be very large as compared with the Planck's constant. But this condition is not sufficient. Suppression of effects of quantum interference ("decoherence") is the phenomenon of primary importance for understanding of the Bohr's principle. Being, in essence, of quite general nature, this problem takes on special significance in the case of non-linear classically chaotic quantum systems. Whereas the rapid decay of phase correlations is an underlying feature of the classical dynamical chaos, the "quantum chaos" by itself is not capable of destroying the quantum phase coherence. Strictly speaking, any initially pure quantum state remains pure during an arbitrary long unitary evolution. Basically, formation of incoherent mixed states (decoherence) results only from the process of preparation of a mixed initial state or interaction with a noisy environment. Just the decoherence brigdes the quantum and classical worlds. Peculiarities of the time behavior of Peres fidelity, state purity, Shanon and von Neumann entropies are analyzed in detail. We demonstrate the ways the decoherence shows up in periodically driven systems that can be associated with Ramsey-type interferomentry experiments with ion traps. Finally, decoherence in ballistic electron quantum transport caused by interaction with a disordered environment is considered.
The Loschmidt echo (LE) is a measure of the sensitivity of quantum mechanics to perturbations in the evolution operator. It is defined as the overlap of two wave functions evolved from the same initial state but with slightly different Hamiltonians. Thus, it also serves as a quantification of irreversibility in quantum mechanics. In this thesis the LE is studied in systems that have a classical counterpart with dynamical instability, that is, classically chaotic. An analytical treatment that makes use of the semiclassical approximation is presented. It is shown that, under certain regime of the parameters, the LE decays exponentially. Furthermore, for strong enough perturbations, the decay rate is given by the Lyapunov exponent of the classical system. Some particularly interesting examples are given. The analytical results are supported by thorough numerical studies. In addition, some regimes not accessible to the theory are explored, showing that the LE and its Lyapunov regime present the same form of universality ascribed to classical chaos. In a sense, this is evidence that the LE is a robust temporal signature of chaos in the quantum realm. Finally, the relation between the LE and the quantum to classical transition is explored, in particular with the theory of decoherence. Using two different approaches, a semiclassical approximation to Wigner functions and a master equation for the LE, it is shown that the decoherence rate and the decay rate of the LE are equal. The relationship between these quantities results mutually beneficial, in terms of the broader resources of decoherence theory and of the possible experimental realization of the LE.