The current PhD thesis presents a collection of selected articles related to the theoretical and numerical study of low-energy collective dynamics of atomic nuclei. The articles were published or recently submitted to international physics journals and were authored or co-authored by the author of the thesis. The eects in collective dynamics have been studied within the framework of two common models-the interacting boson model (IBM) and to a lesser extent the geometric collective model (GCM). The "statistical aspects" in the title relate predominantly to the interplay of ordered and chaotic behavior observed in properties of quantum eigenstates as well as in the classical limits of the models. The main attention was devoted to correlations between the measures of regularity/chaos and the presence of exact and approximate dynamical symmetries. An important subject of the studies were also the relationships between the properties of the classical and quantum solutions of the models both in the integrable regime as well as in the mixed regime containing elements of regularity and chaos simultaneously.
The current PhD thesis presents a collection of selected articles related to the theoretical and numerical study of low-energy collective dynamics of atomic nuclei. The articles were published or recently submitted to international physics journals and were authored or co-authored by the author of the thesis. The eects in collective dynamics have been studied within the framework of two common models-the interacting boson model (IBM) and to a lesser extent the geometric collective model (GCM). The "statistical aspects" in the title relate predominantly to the interplay of ordered and chaotic behavior observed in properties of quantum eigenstates as well as in the classical limits of the models. The main attention was devoted to correlations between the measures of regularity/chaos and the presence of exact and approximate dynamical symmetries. An important subject of the studies were also the relationships between the properties of the classical and quantum solutions of the models both in the integrable regime as well as in the mixed regime containing elements of regularity and chaos simultaneously.
It is known that the development and deep understanding of modern interaction theory and classical mechanics are made through geometry and symmetry. Yet, quantum mechanics which was regarded to be the microscopic theory of classical mechanics and achieved the crowning success in interpreting the entire microscopic world was developed purely from algebraic methods. In this thesis, we will study the geometry and dynamical symmetry in quantum systems, from which the question of integrability and chaos are explicitly addressed. First of all, the quantum dynamical degrees of freedom and quantum integrability are precisely defined and the inherent geometrical structure of quantum systems is explored from the fundamental structure of quantum theory. Such a geometrical structure can provide a framework to simultaneously build quantum and classical mechanics. The quantum-classical correspondence is then explicitly deduced. The dynamics of quantum system before it reaches the classical limit is formulated. Thus, the classical chaos is proven to be a special limiting phenomena of quantum systems and the dynamics before the system reaches its classical chaos is explored. The latter is the first step to seek the quantum manifestation of chaos. The relationship between integrability and dynamical symmetry are studied and some universal properties are discovered: a dynamical system (both quantum and classical) is integrable if it possesses a dynamical symmetry. Chaos will occur if the system undergoes a dynamical symmetry breaking and is accompanied by a structural phase transition. Thus, the concept of dynamical symmetry can be used to predict the general behaviors of a system. The theoretical underpinnings developed in this thesis are verified by many basic quantum mechanical examples. In the second part, we have applied the theory to construct the geometrical description for fermionic systems and then use this general formulation to study the geometrical properties, integrability and chaos in nuclear collective motions. The study of geometry for the fermion systems clearly show how the pure quantum properties (e.g. Pauli principle) are exhibited in geometry and how these geometrical manifestations can interpret experimental facts in nuclear collective motion (e.g. the satiation of nuclear deformation and narrow oblate window). The dynamical symmetry and dynamical symmetry breaking in nuclear collective motion are extensively studied.
Quantum chaos concerns the emergence of universal statistical and dynamical prop- erties in quantum systems whose classical counterparts exhibit chaotic behavior. Unlike classical chaos, which can be characterized by sensitivity to initial conditions and exponential divergence of trajectories, quantum chaos manifests itself through a variety of indirect diagnostics, including spectral correlations, operator growth, and information scrambling. Understanding how these signatures arise from microscopic dynamics, and how they can be accessed in realistic many-body systems, is a central challenge in modern physics. This thesis investigates quantum chaos from complementary theoretical and practical perspectives. On the theoretical side, it develops effective descriptions of chaotic dy- namics in many-body systems with approximate symmetries, focusing on how weak symmetry breaking controls the exploration of Hilbert space and the crossover to random-matrix universality. Using perturbative arguments, numerical simulations, and a nonlinear sigma-model formulation, we identify a regime of Hilbert-space dif- fusion in which chaotic dynamics unfolds through a slow, collective spreading across nearly decoupled symmetry sectors. On the practical side, the thesis addresses the question of how paradigmatic chaotic models can be realized and probed in controlled experimental platforms. In partic- ular, it explores quantum simulation schemes for Sachdev–Ye–Kitaev (SYK) models using cavity quantum electrodynamics. By employing time-dependent disorder and Trotterized evolution in single-mode optical cavities, we demonstrate how low-rank interactions can be systematically promoted to effective all-to-all randomness, re- producing the spectral and dynamical signatures of SYK physics. Extensions to open-system dynamics are discussed, including Lindbladian realizations and the role of dissipation. The thesis thus highlights the connections between effective descriptions of quantum chaos and their implementation in controlled quantum simulation settings.
This thesis is a collection of theoretical investigations into different aspects of the broad subject of quantum many-body theory. The results are grouped into three main parts, which in turn are divided into separate self-contained sections. Some of the work is presented in the form of published papers and papers that have been submitted for publication. The first section of Part A introduces some of the concepts involved in many-body problems, by developing methods to evaluate expectation values of the form . In the rest of Part A I consider collective excitations of finite quantum systems. The calculations are confined to nuclei because the results can then be compared with the extensive investigations that have been made into collective nuclear modes. In Section AII, wavefunctions are proposed for rotational excitations of even-even nuclei. Both isoscalar and isovector nuclear modes are discussed. In particular, the l2,m> isoscalar states are investigated for both spherical and deformed even-even nuclei, and the simplest isovector wavefunction is shown to give a good description of the giant dipole resonance. In section AIII wavefunctions are proposed for compressional vibrational states of spherical nuclei. Section AIV discusses sum rules for nuclear transitions of a given electric multipolarity. It is found that the 2+ and 1- states investigated in section AII and all but one of the vibrational states discussed in AIII each exhaust a large part of the appropriate sum rule. In Part B I consider the problem of how to describe flow in quantum fluids. In particular, we want to be able to identify the physical motion represented by any given many-body wavefunction. Section BI derives a guantum mechanical velocity field for a many-body system, paying special attention to the need for a quantum continuity equation. It is found that when the wavefunction has the usual time dependence e-iwt , that the quantum velocity formula averages over all oscillatory motion, so that much of the physical nature of the flow field is lost. In section BII a particular wavefunction is proposed to represent the quantum excitation corresponding to any given potential flow field. The results obtained by considering specific examples are very encouraging. In Part C I investigate the properties of surfaces. Section CI presents a theoretical description of the tension, energy and thickness of a classical liquid-vapour interface. In section CII the classical results are extended to describe the surface of a quantum system, namely superfluid helium four. Problems occur for the quantum system if the correlations arising from the zero-point-motion of the phonon modes are included in the ground state wavefunction. Finally, in section CIII discuss generalized virial theorems that give the change in the free energy of a system undergoing an infinitesimal deformation. For example, a particular deformation gives the expression used in CII, for the surface tension of a plane quantum surface.
This thesis is a collection of theoretical investigations into different aspects of the broad subject of quantum many-body theory. The results are grouped into three main parts, which in turn are divided into separate self-contained sections. Some of the work is presented in the form of published papers and papers that have been submitted for publication. The first section of Part A introduces some of the concepts involved in many-body problems, by developing methods to evaluate expectation values of the form . In the rest of Part A I consider collective excitations of finite quantum systems. The calculations are confined to nuclei because the results can then be compared with the extensive investigations that have been made into collective nuclear modes. In Section AII, wavefunctions are proposed for rotational excitations of even-even nuclei. Both isoscalar and isovector nuclear modes are discussed. In particular, the l2,m> isoscalar states are investigated for both spherical and deformed even-even nuclei, and the simplest isovector wavefunction is shown to give a good description of the giant dipole resonance. In section AIII wavefunctions are proposed for compressional vibrational states of spherical nuclei. Section AIV discusses sum rules for nuclear transitions of a given electric multipolarity. It is found that the 2+ and 1- states investigated in section AII and all but one of the vibrational states discussed in AIII each exhaust a large part of the appropriate sum rule. In Part B I consider the problem of how to describe flow in quantum fluids. In particular, we want to be able to identify the physical motion represented by any given many-body wavefunction. Section BI derives a guantum mechanical velocity field for a many-body system, paying special attention to the need for a quantum continuity equation. It is found that when the wavefunction has the usual time dependence e-iwt , that the quantum velocity formula averages over all oscillatory motion, so that much of the physical nature of the flow field is lost. In section BII a particular wavefunction is proposed to represent the quantum excitation corresponding to any given potential flow field. The results obtained by considering specific examples are very encouraging. In Part C I investigate the properties of surfaces. Section CI presents a theoretical description of the tension, energy and thickness of a classical liquid-vapour interface. In section CII the classical results are extended to describe the surface of a quantum system, namely superfluid helium four. Problems occur for the quantum system if the correlations arising from the zero-point-motion of the phonon modes are included in the ground state wavefunction. Finally, in section CIII discuss generalized virial theorems that give the change in the free energy of a system undergoing an infinitesimal deformation. For example, a particular deformation gives the expression used in CII, for the surface tension of a plane quantum surface.
This thesis is a collection of theoretical investigations into different aspects of the broad subject of quantum many-body theory. The results are grouped into three main parts, which in turn are divided into separate self-contained sections. Some of the work is presented in the form of published papers and papers that have been submitted for publication. The first section of Part A introduces some of the concepts involved in many-body problems, by developing methods to evaluate expectation values of the form . In the rest of Part A I consider collective excitations of finite quantum systems. The calculations are confined to nuclei because the results can then be compared with the extensive investigations that have been made into collective nuclear modes. In Section AII, wavefunctions are proposed for rotational excitations of even-even nuclei. Both isoscalar and isovector nuclear modes are discussed. In particular, the l2,m> isoscalar states are investigated for both spherical and deformed even-even nuclei, and the simplest isovector wavefunction is shown to give a good description of the giant dipole resonance. In section AIII wavefunctions are proposed for compressional vibrational states of spherical nuclei. Section AIV discusses sum rules for nuclear transitions of a given electric multipolarity. It is found that the 2+ and 1- states investigated in section AII and all but one of the vibrational states discussed in AIII each exhaust a large part of the appropriate sum rule. In Part B I consider the problem of how to describe flow in quantum fluids. In particular, we want to be able to identify the physical motion represented by any given many-body wavefunction. Section BI derives a guantum mechanical velocity field for a many-body system, paying special attention to the need for a quantum continuity equation. It is found that when the wavefunction has the usual time dependence e-iwt , that the quantum velocity formula averages over all oscillatory motion, so that much of the physical nature of the flow field is lost. In section BII a particular wavefunction is proposed to represent the quantum excitation corresponding to any given potential flow field. The results obtained by considering specific examples are very encouraging. In Part C I investigate the properties of surfaces. Section CI presents a theoretical description of the tension, energy and thickness of a classical liquid-vapour interface. In section CII the classical results are extended to describe the surface of a quantum system, namely superfluid helium four. Problems occur for the quantum system if the correlations arising from the zero-point-motion of the phonon modes are included in the ground state wavefunction. Finally, in section CIII discuss generalized virial theorems that give the change in the free energy of a system undergoing an infinitesimal deformation. For example, a particular deformation gives the expression used in CII, for the surface tension of a plane quantum surface.