Semiclassical Description of Tunneling in Mixed Systems: The Case of the Annular Billiard

We study quantum-mechanical tunneling between symmetry-related pairs of regular phase space regions that are separated by a chaotic layer. We consider the annular billiard, and use scattering theory to relate the splitting of quasi-degenerate states quantized on the two regular regions to specific paths connecting them. The tunneling amplitudes involved are given a semiclassical interpretation by extending the billiard boundaries to complex space and generalizing specular reflection to complex rays. We give analytical expressions for the splittings, and show that the dominant contributions come from {\em chaos-assisted}\/ paths that tunnel into and out of the chaotic layer.Comment: 4 pages, uuencoded postscript file, replaces a corrupted versio

Effective Coupling for Open Billiards

We derive an explicit expression for the coupling constants of individual eigenstates of a closed billiard which is opened by attaching a waveguide. The Wigner time delay and the resonance positions resulting from the coupling constants are compared to an exact numerical calculation. Deviations can be attributed to evanescent modes in the waveguide and to the finite number of eigenstates taken into account. The influence of the shape of the billiard and of the boundary conditions at the mouth of the waveguide are also discussed. Finally we show that the mean value of the dimensionless coupling constants tends to the critical value when the eigenstates of the billiard follow random-matrix theory

First Experimental Evidence for Chaos-Assisted Tunneling in a Microwave Annular Billiard

We report on first experimental signatures for chaos-assisted tunneling in a two-dimensional annular billiard. Measurements of microwave spectra from a superconducting cavity with high frequency resolution are combined with electromagnetic field distributions experimentally determined from a normal conducting twin cavity with high spatial resolution to resolve eigenmodes with properly identified quantum numbers. Distributions of so-called quasi-doublet splittings serve as basic observables for the tunneling between whispering gallery type modes localized to congruent, but distinct tori which are coupled weakly to irregular eigenstates associated with the chaotic region in phase space.Comment: 5 pages RevTex, 5 low-resolution figures (high-resolution figures: http://linac.ikp.physik.tu-darmstadt.de/heiko/chaospub.html, to be published in Phys. Rev. Let

Primitive Words, Free Factors and Measure Preservation

Let F_k be the free group on k generators. A word w \in F_k is called primitive if it belongs to some basis of F_k. We investigate two criteria for primitivity, and consider more generally, subgroups of F_k which are free factors. The first criterion is graph-theoretic and uses Stallings core graphs: given subgroups of finite rank H \le J \le F_k we present a simple procedure to determine whether H is a free factor of J. This yields, in particular, a procedure to determine whether a given element in F_k is primitive. Again let w \in F_k and consider the word map w:G x G x ... x G \to G (from the direct product of k copies of G to G), where G is an arbitrary finite group. We call w measure preserving if given uniform measure on G x G x ... x G, w induces uniform measure on G (for every finite G). This is the second criterion we investigate: it is not hard to see that primitivity implies measure preservation and it was conjectured that the two properties are equivalent. Our combinatorial approach to primitivity allows us to make progress on this problem and in particular prove the conjecture for k=2. It was asked whether the primitive elements of F_k form a closed set in the profinite topology of free groups. Our results provide a positive answer for F_2.Comment: This is a unified version of two manuscripts: "On Primitive words I: A New Algorithm", and "On Primitive Words II: Measure Preservation". 42 pages, 14 figures. Some parts of the paper reorganized towards publication in the Israel J. of Mat

Resonance-assisted tunneling in near-integrable systems

Dynamical tunneling between symmetry related invariant tori is studied in the near-integrable regime. Using the kicked Harper model as an illustration, we show that the exponential decay of the wave functions in the classically forbidden region is modified due to coupling processes that are mediated by classical resonances. This mechanism leads to a substantial deviation of the splitting between quasi-degenerate eigenvalues from the purely exponential decrease with 1 / hbar obtained for the integrable system. A simple semiclassical framework, which takes into account the effect of the resonance substructure on the KAM tori, allows to quantitatively reproduce the behavior of the eigenvalue splittings.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, gzipped tar file, to appear in Phys. Rev. Lett, text slightly condensed compared to first versio

Quasiclassical Random Matrix Theory

We directly combine ideas of the quasiclassical approximation with random matrix theory and apply them to the study of the spectrum, in particular to the two-level correlator. Bogomolny's transfer operator T, quasiclassically an NxN unitary matrix, is considered to be a random matrix. Rather than rejecting all knowledge of the system, except for its symmetry, [as with Dyson's circular unitary ensemble], we choose an ensemble which incorporates the knowledge of the shortest periodic orbits, the prime quasiclassical information bearing on the spectrum. The results largely agree with expectations but contain novel features differing from other recent theories.Comment: 4 pages, RevTex, submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett., permanent e-mail [email protected]

Wavefunctions, Green's functions and expectation values in terms of spectral determinants

We derive semiclassical approximations for wavefunctions, Green's functions and expectation values for classically chaotic quantum systems. Our method consists of applying singular and regular perturbations to quantum Hamiltonians. The wavefunctions, Green's functions and expectation values of the unperturbed Hamiltonian are expressed in terms of the spectral determinant of the perturbed Hamiltonian. Semiclassical resummation methods for spectral determinants are applied and yield approximations in terms of a finite number of classical trajectories. The final formulas have a simple form. In contrast to Poincare surface of section methods, the resummation is done in terms of the periods of the trajectories.Comment: 18 pages, no figure

Quantum dissipation due to the interaction with chaotic degrees-of-freedom and the correspondence principle

Both in atomic physics and in mesoscopic physics it is sometimes interesting to consider the energy time-dependence of a parametrically-driven chaotic system. We assume an Hamiltonian ${\cal H}(Q,P;x(t))$ where $x(t)=Vt$. The velocity $V$ is slow in the classical sense but not necessarily in the quantum-mechanical sense. The crossover (in time) from ballistic to diffusive energy-spreading is studied. The associated irreversible growth of the average energy has the meaning of dissipation. It is found that a dimensionless velocity $v_{PR}$ determines the nature of the dynamics, and controls the route towards quantal-classical correspondence (QCC). A perturbative regime and a non-perturbative semiclassical regime are distinguished.Comment: 4 pages, clear presentation of the main poin

Complex Periodic Orbits and Tunnelling in Chaotic Potentials

We derive a trace formula for the splitting-weighted density of states suitable for chaotic potentials with isolated symmetric wells. This formula is based on complex orbits which tunnel through classically forbidden barriers. The theory is applicable whenever the tunnelling is dominated by isolated orbits, a situation which applies to chaotic systems but also to certain near-integrable ones. It is used to analyse a specific two-dimensional potential with chaotic dynamics. Mean behaviour of the splittings is predicted by an orbit with imaginary action. Oscillations around this mean are obtained from a collection of related orbits whose actions have nonzero real part

Dynamical Tunneling in Mixed Systems

We study quantum-mechanical tunneling in mixed dynamical systems between symmetry-related phase space tori separated by a chaotic layer. Considering e.g. the annular billiard we decompose tunneling-related energy splittings and shifts into sums over paths in phase space. We show that tunneling transport is dominated by chaos-assisted paths that tunnel into and out of the chaotic layer via the ``beach'' regions sandwiched between the regular islands and the chaotic sea. Level splittings are shown to fluctuate on two scales as functions of energy or an external parameter: they display a dense sequence of peaks due to resonances with states supported by the chaotic sea, overlaid on top of slow modulations arising from resonances with states supported by the ``beaches''. We obtain analytic expressions which enable us to assess the relative importance of tunneling amplitudes into the chaotic sea vs. its internal transport properties. Finally, we average over the statistics of the chaotic region, and derive the asymptotic tail of the splitting distribution function under rather general assumptions concerning the fluctuation properties of chaotic states.Comment: 28 pages, Latex, 16 EPS figure