332 research outputs found
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 where . The
velocity 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 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
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