The role of singularities in chaotic spectroscopy

We review the status of the semiclassical trace formula with emphasis on the particular types of singularities that occur in the Gutzwiller-Voros zeta function for bound chaotic systems. To understand the problem better we extend the discussion to include various classical zeta functions and we contrast properties of axiom-A scattering systems with those of typical bound systems. Singularities in classical zeta functions contain topological and dynamical information, concerning e.g. anomalous diffusion, phase transitions among generalized Lyapunov exponents, power law decay of correlations. Singularities in semiclassical zeta functions are artifacts and enters because one neglects some quantum effects when deriving them, typically by making saddle point approximation when the saddle points are not enough separated. The discussion is exemplified by the Sinai billiard where intermittent orbits associated with neutral orbits induce a branch point in the zeta functions. This singularity is responsible for a diverging diffusion constant in Lorentz gases with unbounded horizon. In the semiclassical case there is interference between neutral orbits and intermittent orbits. The Gutzwiller-Voros zeta function exhibit a branch point because it does not take this effect into account. Another consequence is that individual states, high up in the spectrum, cannot be resolved by Berry-Keating technique.Comment: 22 pages LaTeX, figures available from autho

From quantum chaos and eigenstate thermalization to statistical mechanics and thermodynamics

This review gives a pedagogical introduction to the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis (ETH), its basis, and its implications to statistical mechanics and thermodynamics. In the first part, ETH is introduced as a natural extension of ideas from quantum chaos and random matrix theory (RMT). To this end, we present a brief overview of classical and quantum chaos, as well as RMT and some of its most important predictions. The latter include the statistics of energy levels, eigenstate components, and matrix elements of observables. Building on these, we introduce the ETH and show that it allows one to describe thermalization in isolated chaotic systems without invoking the notion of an external bath. We examine numerical evidence of eigenstate thermalization from studies of many-body lattice systems. We also introduce the concept of a quench as a means of taking isolated systems out of equilibrium, and discuss results of numerical experiments on quantum quenches. The second part of the review explores the implications of quantum chaos and ETH to thermodynamics. Basic thermodynamic relations are derived, including the second law of thermodynamics, the fundamental thermodynamic relation, fluctuation theorems, the fluctuation–dissipation relation, and the Einstein and Onsager relations. In particular, it is shown that quantum chaos allows one to prove these relations for individual Hamiltonian eigenstates and thus extend them to arbitrary stationary statistical ensembles. In some cases, it is possible to extend their regimes of applicability beyond the standard thermal equilibrium domain. We then show how one can use these relations to obtain nontrivial universal energy distributions in continuously driven systems. At the end of the review, we briefly discuss the relaxation dynamics and description after relaxation of integrable quantum systems, for which ETH is violated. We present results from numerical experiments and analytical studies of quantum quenches at integrability. We introduce the concept of the generalized Gibbs ensemble and discuss its connection with ideas of prethermalization in weakly interacting systems.This work was supported by the Army Research Office [grant number W911NF1410540] (L.D., A.P, and M.R.), the U.S.-Israel Binational Science Foundation [grant number 2010318] (Y.K. and A.P.), the Israel Science Foundation [grant number 1156/13] (Y.K.), the National Science Foundation [grant numbers DMR-1506340 (A.P.)and PHY-1318303 (M.R.)], the Air Force Office of Scientific Research [grant number FA9550-13-1-0039] (A.P.), and the Office of Naval Research [grant number N000141410540] (M.R.). The computations were performed in the Institute for CyberScience at Penn State. (W911NF1410540 - Army Research Office; 2010318 - U.S.-Israel Binational Science Foundation; 1156/13 - Israel Science Foundation; DMR-1506340 - National Science Foundation; PHY-1318303 - National Science Foundation; FA9550-13-1-0039 - Air Force Office of Scientific Research; N000141410540 - Office of Naval Research)Accepted manuscrip

Morphology of three-body quantum states from machine learning

The relative motion of three impenetrable particles on a ring, in our case two identical fermions and one impurity, is isomorphic to a triangular quantum billiard. Depending on the ratio κ of the impurity and fermion masses, the billiards can be integrable or non-integrable (also referred to in the main text as chaotic). To set the stage, we first investigate the energy level distributions of the billiards as a function of 1/κ ∈ [0, 1] and find no evidence of integrable cases beyond the limiting values 1/κ = 1 and 1/κ = 0. Then, we use machine learning tools to analyze properties of probability distributions of individual quantum states. We find that convolutional neural networks can correctly classify integrable and non-integrable states. The decisive features of the wave functions are the normalization and a large number of zero elements, corresponding to the existence of a nodal line. The network achieves typical accuracies of 97%, suggesting that machine learning tools can be used to analyze and classify the morphology of probability densities obtained in theory or experiment

Numerical Studies of Quantum Chaos in Various Dynamical Systems

We study two classes of quantum phenomena associated with classical chaos in a variety of quantum models: (i) dynamical localization and its extension and generalization to interacting few- and many-body systems and (ii) quantum exponential divergences in high-order correlators and other diagnostics of quantum chaos. Dynamical localization (DL) is a subtle phenomenon related to Anderson localization. It hinges on quantum interference and is typically destroyed in presence of interactions. DL often manifests as a failure of a driven system to heat up, violating the foundations of statistical physics. Kicked rotor (KR) is a prototypical chaotic classical model that exhibits linear energy growth with time. The quantum kicked rotor (QKR) features DL instead: its energy saturates. Multiple attempts of many-body generalizations faced difficulties in preserving DL. Recently, DL was shown in a special integrable many-body model. We study non-integrable models of few- and many-body QKR-like systems and provide direct evidence that DL can persist there. In addition, we show how a novel related concept of localization landscape can be applied to study transport in rippled channels. Out-of-time-ordered correlator (OTOC) was proposed as an indicator of quantum chaos, since in the semiclassical limit, this correlator's possible exponential growth rate (CGR) resembles the classical Lyapunov exponent (LE). We show that the CGR in QKR is related, but distinct from the LE in KR. We also show a singularity in the OTOC at the Ehrenfest time tᴱ due to a delay in the onset of quantum interference. Next, we study scaling of OTOC beyond tᴱ. We then explore how the OTOC-based approach to quantum chaos relates to the random-matrix-theoretical description by introducing an operator we dub the Lyapunovian. Its level statistics is calculated for quantum stadium billiard, a seminal model of quantum chaos, and aligns perfectly with the Wigner-Dyson surmise. In the semiclassical limit, the Lyapunovian reduces to the matrix of uncorrelated finite-time Lyapunov exponents, connecting the CGR at early times, when the quantum effects are weak, to universal level repulsion that hinges on strong quantum interference. Finally, we consider quantum polygonal billiards: their classical counterparts are non-chaotic. We show exponential growth of the OTOCs in these systems, sharply contrasted with the classical behavior even before quantum interference develops

De Sitter Space Without Dynamical Quantum Fluctuations

We argue that, under certain plausible assumptions, de Sitter space settles into a quiescent vacuum in which there are no dynamical quantum fluctuations. Such fluctuations require either an evolving microstate, or time-dependent histories of out-of-equilibrium recording devices, which we argue are absent in stationary states. For a massive scalar field in a fixed de Sitter background, the cosmic no-hair theorem implies that the state of the patch approaches the vacuum, where there are no fluctuations. We argue that an analogous conclusion holds whenever a patch of de Sitter is embedded in a larger theory with an infinite-dimensional Hilbert space, including semiclassical quantum gravity with false vacua or complementarity in theories with at least one Minkowski vacuum. This reasoning provides an escape from the Boltzmann brain problem in such theories. It also implies that vacuum states do not uptunnel to higher-energy vacua and that perturbations do not decohere while slow-roll inflation occurs, suggesting that eternal inflation is much less common than often supposed. On the other hand, if a de Sitter patch is a closed system with a finite-dimensional Hilbert space, there will be Poincare recurrences and dynamical Boltzmann fluctuations into lower-entropy states. Our analysis does not alter the conventional understanding of the origin of density fluctuations from primordial inflation, since reheating naturally generates a high-entropy environment and leads to decoherence, nor does it affect the existence of non-dynamical vacuum fluctuations such as those that give rise to the Casimir effect.Comment: version accepted for publication in Foundations of Physic