15,595 research outputs found
On the propagation of semiclassical Wigner functions
We establish the difference between the propagation of semiclassical Wigner
functions and classical Liouville propagation. First we re-discuss the
semiclassical limit for the propagator of Wigner functions, which on its own
leads to their classical propagation. Then, via stationary phase evaluation of
the full integral evolution equation, using the semiclassical expressions of
Wigner functions, we provide the correct geometrical prescription for their
semiclassical propagation. This is determined by the classical trajectories of
the tips of the chords defined by the initial semiclassical Wigner function and
centered on their arguments, in contrast to the Liouville propagation which is
determined by the classical trajectories of the arguments themselves.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure. To appear in J. Phys. A. This version matches the
one set to print and differs from the previous one (07 Nov 2001) by the
addition of two references, a few extra words of explanation and an augmented
figure captio
Orbit bifurcations and the scarring of wavefunctions
We extend the semiclassical theory of scarring of quantum eigenfunctions
psi_{n}(q) by classical periodic orbits to include situations where these
orbits undergo generic bifurcations. It is shown that |psi_{n}(q)|^{2},
averaged locally with respect to position q and the energy spectrum E_{n}, has
structure around bifurcating periodic orbits with an amplitude and length-scale
whose hbar-dependence is determined by the bifurcation in question.
Specifically, the amplitude scales as hbar^{alpha} and the length-scale as
hbar^{w}, and values of the scar exponents, alpha and w, are computed for a
variety of generic bifurcations. In each case, the scars are semiclassically
wider than those associated with isolated and unstable periodic orbits;
moreover, their amplitude is at least as large, and in most cases larger. In
this sense, bifurcations may be said to give rise to superscars. The
competition between the contributions from different bifurcations to determine
the moments of the averaged eigenfunction amplitude is analysed. We argue that
there is a resulting universal hbar-scaling in the semiclassical asymptotics of
these moments for irregular states in systems with a mixed phase-space
dynamics. Finally, a number of these predictions are illustrated by numerical
computations for a family of perturbed cat maps.Comment: 24 pages, 6 Postscript figures, corrected some typo
Geometric phases and hidden local gauge symmetry
The analysis of geometric phases associated with level crossing is reduced to
the familiar diagonalization of the Hamiltonian in the second quantized
formulation. A hidden local gauge symmetry, which is associated with the
arbitrariness of the phase choice of a complete orthonormal basis set, becomes
explicit in this formulation (in particular, in the adiabatic approximation)
and specifies physical observables. The choice of a basis set which specifies
the coordinate in the functional space is arbitrary in the second quantization,
and a sub-class of coordinate transformations, which keeps the form of the
action invariant, is recognized as the gauge symmetry. We discuss the
implications of this hidden local gauge symmetry in detail by analyzing
geometric phases for cyclic and noncyclic evolutions. It is shown that the
hidden local symmetry provides a basic concept alternative to the notion of
holonomy to analyze geometric phases and that the analysis based on the hidden
local gauge symmetry leads to results consistent with the general prescription
of Pancharatnam. We however note an important difference between the geometric
phases for cyclic and noncyclic evolutions. We also explain a basic difference
between our hidden local gauge symmetry and a gauge symmetry (or equivalence
class) used by Aharonov and Anandan in their definition of generalized
geometric phases.Comment: 25 pages, 1 figure. Some typos have been corrected. To be published
in Phys. Rev.
Calculation of the Aharonov-Bohm wave function
A calculation of the Aharonov-Bohm wave function is presented. The result is
a series of confluent hypergeometric functions which is finite at the forward
direction.Comment: 12 pages in LaTeX, and 3 PostScript figure
Decoherence of Semiclassical Wigner Functions
The Lindblad equation governs general markovian evolution of the density
operator in an open quantum system. An expression for the rate of change of the
Wigner function as a sum of integrals is one of the forms of the Weyl
representation for this equation. The semiclassical description of the Wigner
function in terms of chords, each with its classically defined amplitude and
phase, is thus inserted in the integrals, which leads to an explicit
differential equation for the Wigner function. All the Lindblad operators are
assumed to be represented by smooth phase space functions corresponding to
classical variables. In the case that these are real, representing hermitian
operators, the semiclassical Lindblad equation can be integrated. There results
a simple extension of the unitary evolution of the semiclassical Wigner
function, which does not affect the phase of each chord contribution, while
dampening its amplitude. This decreases exponentially, as governed by the time
integral of the square difference of the Lindblad functions along the classical
trajectories of both tips of each chord. The decay of the amplitudes is shown
to imply diffusion in energy for initial states that are nearly pure.
Projecting the Wigner function onto an orthogonal position or momentum basis,
the dampening of long chords emerges as the exponential decay of off-diagonal
elements of the density matrix.Comment: 23 pg, 2 fi
Orbiting Resonances and Bound States in Molecular Scattering
A family of orbiting resonances in molecular scattering is globally described
by using a single pole moving in the complex angular momentum plane. The
extrapolation of this pole at negative energies gives the location of the bound
states. Then a single pole trajectory, that connects a rotational band of bound
states and orbiting resonances, is obtained. These complex angular momentum
singularities are derived through a geometrical theory of the orbiting. The
downward crossing of the phase-shifts through pi/2, due to the repulsive region
of the molecular potential, is estimated by using a simple hard-core model.
Some remarks about the difference between diffracted rays and orbiting are also
given.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Physical Review
Chaos and Quantum Thermalization
We show that a bounded, isolated quantum system of many particles in a
specific initial state will approach thermal equilibrium if the energy
eigenfunctions which are superposed to form that state obey {\it Berry's
conjecture}. Berry's conjecture is expected to hold only if the corresponding
classical system is chaotic, and essentially states that the energy
eigenfunctions behave as if they were gaussian random variables. We review the
existing evidence, and show that previously neglected effects substantially
strengthen the case for Berry's conjecture. We study a rarefied hard-sphere gas
as an explicit example of a many-body system which is known to be classically
chaotic, and show that an energy eigenstate which obeys Berry's conjecture
predicts a Maxwell--Boltzmann, Bose--Einstein, or Fermi--Dirac distribution for
the momentum of each constituent particle, depending on whether the wave
functions are taken to be nonsymmetric, completely symmetric, or completely
antisymmetric functions of the positions of the particles. We call this
phenomenon {\it eigenstate thermalization}. We show that a generic initial
state will approach thermal equilibrium at least as fast as
, where is the uncertainty in the total energy
of the gas. This result holds for an individual initial state; in contrast to
the classical theory, no averaging over an ensemble of initial states is
needed. We argue that these results constitute a new foundation for quantum
statistical mechanics.Comment: 28 pages in Plain TeX plus 2 uuencoded PS figures (included); minor
corrections only, this version will be published in Phys. Rev. E;
UCSB-TH-94-1
Random fluctuation leads to forbidden escape of particles
A great number of physical processes are described within the context of
Hamiltonian scattering. Previous studies have rather been focused on
trajectories starting outside invariant structures, since the ones starting
inside are expected to stay trapped there forever. This is true though only for
the deterministic case. We show however that, under finitely small random
fluctuations of the field, trajectories starting inside Arnold-Kolmogorov-Moser
(KAM) islands escape within finite time. The non-hyperbolic dynamics gains then
hyperbolic characteristics due to the effect of the random perturbed field. As
a consequence, trajectories which are started inside KAM curves escape with
hyperbolic-like time decay distribution, and the fractal dimension of a set of
particles that remain in the scattering region approaches that for hyperbolic
systems. We show a universal quadratic power law relating the exponential decay
to the amplitude of noise. We present a random walk model to relate this
distribution to the amplitude of noise, and investigate this phenomena with a
numerical study applying random maps.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures - Up to date with corrections suggested by
referee
Amplitude distribution of eigenfunctions in mixed systems
We study the amplitude distribution of irregular eigenfunctions in systems
with mixed classical phase space. For an appropriately restricted random wave
model a theoretical prediction for the amplitude distribution is derived and
good agreement with numerical computations for the family of limacon billiards
is found. The natural extension of our result to more general systems, e.g.
with a potential, is also discussed.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures. Some of the pictures are included in low
resolution only. For a version with pictures in high resolution see
http://www.physik.uni-ulm.de/theo/qc/ or http://www.maths.bris.ac.uk/~maab
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