Fractal diffusion coefficient from dynamical zeta functions

Dynamical zeta functions provide a powerful method to analyze low dimensional dynamical systems when the underlying symbolic dynamics is under control. On the other hand even simple one dimensional maps can show an intricate structure of the grammar rules that may lead to a non smooth dependence of global observable on parameters changes. A paradigmatic example is the fractal diffusion coefficient arising in a simple piecewise linear one dimensional map of the real line. Using the Baladi-Ruelle generalization of the Milnor-Thurnston kneading determinant we provide the exact dynamical zeta function for such a map and compute the diffusion coefficient from its smallest zero.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure

Instability statistics and mixing rates

We claim that looking at probability distributions of \emph{finite time} largest Lyapunov exponents, and more precisely studying their large deviation properties, yields an extremely powerful technique to get quantitative estimates of polynomial decay rates of time correlations and Poincar\'e recurrences in the -quite delicate- case of dynamical systems with weak chaotic properties.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Periodic orbit quantization of the Sinai billiard in the small scatterer limit

We consider the semiclassical quantization of the Sinai billiard for disk radii R small compared to the wave length 2 pi/k. Via the application of the periodic orbit theory of diffraction we derive the semiclassical spectral determinant. The limitations of the derived determinant are studied by comparing it to the exact KKR determinant, which we generalize here for the A_1 subspace. With the help of the Ewald resummation method developed for the full KKR determinant we transfer the complex diffractive determinant to a real form. The real zeros of the determinant are the quantum eigenvalues in semiclassical approximation. The essential parameter is the strength of the scatterer c=J_0(kR)/Y_0(kR). Surprisingly, this can take any value between plus and minus infinity within the range of validity of the diffractive approximation kR <<4. We study the statistics exhibited by spectra for fixed values of c. It is Poissonian for |c|=infinity, provided the disk is placed inside a rectangle whose sides obeys some constraints. For c=0 we find a good agreement of the level spacing distribution with GOE, whereas the form factor and two-point correlation function are similar but exhibit larger deviations. By varying the parameter c from 0 to infinity the level statistics interpolates smoothly between these limiting cases.Comment: 17 pages LaTeX, 5 postscript figures, submitted to J. Phys. A: Math. Ge

Singular continuous spectra in a pseudo-integrable billiard

The pseudo-integrable barrier billiard invented by Hannay and McCraw [J. Phys. A 23, 887 (1990)] -- rectangular billiard with line-segment barrier placed on a symmetry axis -- is generalized. It is proven that the flow on invariant surfaces of genus two exhibits a singular continuous spectral component.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

The Cleo Rich Detector

We describe the design, construction and performance of a Ring Imaging Cherenkov Detector (RICH) constructed to identify charged particles in the CLEO experiment. Cherenkov radiation occurs in LiF crystals, both planar and ones with a novel ``sawtooth''-shaped exit surface. Photons in the wavelength interval 135--165 nm are detected using multi-wire chambers filled with a mixture of methane gas and triethylamine vapor. Excellent pion/kaon separation is demonstrated.Comment: 75 pages, 57 figures, (updated July 26, 2005 to reflect reviewers comments), to be published in NIM

Constraints on B--->pi,K transition form factors from exclusive semileptonic D-meson decays

According to the heavy-quark flavour symmetry, the $B\to \pi, K$ transition form factors could be related to the corresponding ones of D-meson decays near the zero recoil point. With the recent precisely measured exclusive semileptonic decays $D \to \pi \ell \nu$ and $D\to K \ell \nu$, we perform a phenomenological study of $B \to \pi, K$ transition form factors based on this symmetry. Using BK, BZ and Series Expansion parameterizations of the form factor slope, we extrapolate $B \to \pi, K$ transition form factors from $q^{2}_{max}$ to $q^{2}=0$. It is found that, although being consistent with each other within error bars, the central values of our results for $B \to \pi, K$ form factors at $q^2=0$, $f_+^{B\to \pi, K}(0)$, are much smaller than predictions of the QCD light-cone sum rules, but are in good agreements with the ones extracted from hadronic B-meson decays within the SCET framework. Moreover, smaller form factors are also favored by the QCD factorization approach for hadronic B-meson decays.Comment: 19 pages, no figure, 5 table

The Cleo III Ring Imaging Cherenkov Detector

The CLEO detector has been upgraded to include a state of the art particle identification system, based on the Ring Imaging Cherenkov Detector (RICH) technology, in order to take data at the upgraded CESR electron positron collider. The expected performance is reviewed, as well as the preliminary results from an engineering run during the first few months of operation of the CLEO III detector.Comment: 5 pages, 2 Figures Talk given by M. Artuso at 8th Pisa Meeting on Advanced Detectors, May 200

Delocalized and Resonant Quantum Transport in Nonlinear Generalizations of the Kicked Rotor Model

We analyze the effects of a nonlinear cubic perturbation on the delta-Kicked Rotor. We consider two different models, in which the nonlinear term acts either in the position or in the momentum representation. We numerically investigate the modifications induced by the nonlinearity in the quantum transport in both localized and resonant regimes and a comparison between the results for the two models is presented. Analyzing the momentum distributions and the increase of the mean square momentum, we find that the quantum resonances asymptotically are very stable with respect to the nonlinear perturbation of the rotor's phase evolution. For an intermittent time regime, the nonlinearity even enhances the resonant quantum transport, leading to superballistic motion.Comment: 8 pages, 10 figures; to appear in Phys. Rev.

Oseledets' Splitting of Standard-like Maps

For the class of differentiable maps of the plane and, in particular, for standard-like maps (McMillan form), a simple relation is shown between the directions of the local invariant manifolds of a generic point and its contribution to the finite-time Lyapunov exponents (FTLE) of the associated orbit. By computing also the point-wise curvature of the manifolds, we produce a comparative study between local Lyapunov exponent, manifold's curvature and splitting angle between stable/unstable manifolds. Interestingly, the analysis of the Chirikov-Taylor standard map suggests that the positive contributions to the FTLE average mostly come from points of the orbit where the structure of the manifolds is locally hyperbolic: where the manifolds are flat and transversal, the one-step exponent is predominantly positive and large; this behaviour is intended in a purely statistical sense, since it exhibits large deviations. Such phenomenon can be understood by analytic arguments which, as a by-product, also suggest an explicit way to point-wise approximate the splitting.Comment: 17 pages, 11 figure

On the duality between periodic orbit statistics and quantum level statistics

We discuss consequences of a recent observation that the sequence of periodic orbits in a chaotic billiard behaves like a poissonian stochastic process on small scales. This enables the semiclassical form factor $K_{sc}(\tau)$ to agree with predictions of random matrix theories for other than infinitesimal $\tau$ in the semiclassical limit.Comment: 8 pages LaTe