1,035 research outputs found
Quantum Spectra and Wave Functions in Terms of Periodic Orbits for Weakly Chaotic Systems
Special quantum states exist which are quasiclassical quantizations of
regions of phase space that are weakly chaotic. In a weakly chaotic region, the
orbits are quite regular and remain in the region for some time before escaping
and manifesting possible chaotic behavior. Such phase space regions are
characterized as being close to periodic orbits of an integrable reference
system. The states are often rather striking, and can be concentrated in
spatial regions. This leads to possible phenomena. We review some methods we
have introduced to characterize such regions and find analytic formulas for the
special states and their energies.Comment: 9 pages, 8 eps figure
On the rate of quantum ergodicity in Euclidean billiards
For a large class of quantized ergodic flows the quantum ergodicity theorem
due to Shnirelman, Zelditch, Colin de Verdi\`ere and others states that almost
all eigenfunctions become equidistributed in the semiclassical limit. In this
work we first give a short introduction to the formulation of the quantum
ergodicity theorem for general observables in terms of pseudodifferential
operators and show that it is equivalent to the semiclassical eigenfunction
hypothesis for the Wigner function in the case of ergodic systems. Of great
importance is the rate by which the quantum mechanical expectation values of an
observable tend to their mean value. This is studied numerically for three
Euclidean billiards (stadium, cosine and cardioid billiard) using up to 6000
eigenfunctions. We find that in configuration space the rate of quantum
ergodicity is strongly influenced by localized eigenfunctions like bouncing
ball modes or scarred eigenfunctions. We give a detailed discussion and
explanation of these effects using a simple but powerful model. For the rate of
quantum ergodicity in momentum space we observe a slower decay. We also study
the suitably normalized fluctuations of the expectation values around their
mean, and find good agreement with a Gaussian distribution.Comment: 40 pages, LaTeX2e. This version does not contain any figures. A
version with all figures can be obtained from
http://www.physik.uni-ulm.de/theo/qc/ (File:
http://www.physik.uni-ulm.de/theo/qc/ulm-tp/tp97-8.ps.gz) In case of any
problems contact Arnd B\"acker (e-mail: [email protected]) or Roman
Schubert (e-mail: [email protected]
Relating chaos to deterministic diffusion of a molecule adsorbed on a surface
Chaotic internal degrees of freedom of a molecule can act as noise and affect
the diffusion of the molecule on a substrate. A separation of time scales
between the fast internal dynamics and the slow motion of the centre of mass on
the substrate makes it possible to directly link chaos to diffusion. We discuss
the conditions under which this is possible, and show that in simple atomistic
models with pair-wise harmonic potentials, strong chaos can arise through the
geometry. Using molecular-dynamics simulations, we demonstrate that a realistic
model of benzene is indeed chaotic, and that the internal chaos affects the
diffusion on a graphite substrate
Chaotic eigenfunctions in momentum space
We study eigenstates of chaotic billiards in the momentum representation and
propose the radially integrated momentum distribution as useful measure to
detect localization effects. For the momentum distribution, the radially
integrated momentum distribution, and the angular integrated momentum
distribution explicit formulae in terms of the normal derivative along the
billiard boundary are derived. We present a detailed numerical study for the
stadium and the cardioid billiard, which shows in several cases that the
radially integrated momentum distribution is a good indicator of localized
eigenstates, such as scars, or bouncing ball modes. We also find examples,
where the localization is more strongly pronounced in position space than in
momentum space, which we discuss in detail. Finally applications and
generalizations are discussed.Comment: 30 pages. The figures are included in low resolution only. For a
version with figures in high resolution see
http://www.physik.uni-ulm.de/theo/qc/ulm-tp/tp99-2.htm
Scarred Patterns in Surface Waves
Surface wave patterns are investigated experimentally in a system geometry
that has become a paradigm of quantum chaos: the stadium billiard. Linear waves
in bounded geometries for which classical ray trajectories are chaotic are
known to give rise to scarred patterns. Here, we utilize parametrically forced
surface waves (Faraday waves), which become progressively nonlinear beyond the
wave instability threshold, to investigate the subtle interplay between
boundaries and nonlinearity. Only a subset (three main types) of the computed
linear modes of the stadium are observed in a systematic scan. These correspond
to modes in which the wave amplitudes are strongly enhanced along paths
corresponding to certain periodic ray orbits. Many other modes are found to be
suppressed, in general agreement with a prediction by Agam and Altshuler based
on boundary dissipation and the Lyapunov exponent of the associated orbit.
Spatially asymmetric or disordered (but time-independent) patterns are also
found even near onset. As the driving acceleration is increased, the
time-independent scarred patterns persist, but in some cases transitions
between modes are noted. The onset of spatiotemporal chaos at higher forcing
amplitude often involves a nonperiodic oscillation between spatially ordered
and disordered states. We characterize this phenomenon using the concept of
pattern entropy. The rate of change of the patterns is found to be reduced as
the state passes temporarily near the ordered configurations of lower entropy.
We also report complex but highly symmetric (time-independent) patterns far
above onset in the regime that is normally chaotic.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures (low resolution gif files). Updated and added
references and text. For high resolution images:
http://physics.clarku.edu/~akudrolli/stadium.htm
Coupling of bouncing-ball modes to the chaotic sea and their counting function
We study the coupling of bouncing-ball modes to chaotic modes in
two-dimensional billiards with two parallel boundary segments. Analytically, we
predict the corresponding decay rates using the fictitious integrable system
approach. Agreement with numerically determined rates is found for the stadium
and the cosine billiard. We use this result to predict the asymptotic behavior
of the counting function N_bb(E) ~ E^\delta. For the stadium billiard we find
agreement with the previous result \delta = 3/4. For the cosine billiard we
derive \delta = 5/8, which is confirmed numerically and is well below the
previously predicted upper bound \delta=9/10.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure
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