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

Uniform approximation for the overlap caustic of a quantum state with its translations

The semiclassical Wigner function for a Bohr-quantized energy eigenstate is known to have a caustic along the corresponding classical closed phase space curve in the case of a single degree of freedom. Its Fourier transform, the semiclassical chord function, also has a caustic along the conjugate curve defined as the locus of diameters, i.e. the maximal chords of the original curve. If the latter is convex, so is its conjugate, resulting in a simple fold caustic. The uniform approximation through this caustic, that is here derived, describes the transition undergone by the overlap of the state with its translation, from an oscillatory regime for small chords, to evanescent overlaps, rising to a maximum near the caustic. The diameter-caustic for the Wigner function is also treated.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figure

Remarks on supersymmetry of quantum systems with position-dependent effective masses

We apply the supersymmetry approach to one-dimensional quantum systems with spatially-dependent mass, by including their ordering ambiguities dependence. In this way we extend the results recently reported in the literature. Furthermore, we point out a connection between these systems and others with constant masses. This is done through convenient transformations in the coordinates and wavefunctions.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figur

Resonance- and chaos-assisted tunneling in mixed regular-chaotic systems

We present evidence that nonlinear resonances govern the tunneling process between symmetry-related islands of regular motion in mixed regular-chaotic systems.In a similar way as for near-integrable tunneling, such resonances induce couplings between regular states within the islands and states that are supported by the chaotic sea. On the basis of this mechanism, we derive a semiclassical expression for the average tunneling rate, which yields good agreement in comparison with the exact quantum tunneling rates calculated for the kicked rotor and the kicked Harper.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

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

Efeito de poleiros artificiais na chuva de sementes em áreas de ocorrência da Floresta Estacional Semidecidual, Fênix, PR.

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