Classical versus Quantum Time Evolution of Densities at Limited Phase-Space Resolution

We study the interrelations between the classical (Frobenius-Perron) and the quantum (Husimi) propagator for phase-space (quasi-)probability densities in a Hamiltonian system displaying a mix of regular and chaotic behavior. We focus on common resonances of these operators which we determine by blurring phase-space resolution. We demonstrate that classical and quantum time evolution look alike if observed with a resolution much coarser than a Planck cell and explain how this similarity arises for the propagators as well as their spectra. The indistinguishability of blurred quantum and classical evolution implies that classical resonances can conveniently be determined from quantum mechanics and in turn become effective for decay rates of quantum correlations.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

Resonances of the Frobenius-Perron Operator for a Hamiltonian Map with a Mixed Phase Space

Resonances of the (Frobenius-Perron) evolution operator P for phase-space densities have recently attracted considerable attention, in the context of interrelations between classical and quantum dynamics. We determine these resonances as well as eigenvalues of P for Hamiltonian systems with a mixed phase space, by truncating P to finite size in a Hilbert space of phase-space functions and then diagonalizing. The corresponding eigenfunctions are localized on unstable manifolds of hyperbolic periodic orbits for resonances and on islands of regular motion for eigenvalues. Using information drawn from the eigenfunctions we reproduce the resonances found by diagonalization through a variant of the cycle expansion of periodic-orbit theory and as rates of correlation decay.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figure

Semiclassical singularities from bifurcating orbits.

We investigated numerically, for a generic quantum system (a kicked top), how the singular behavior of classical systems at bifurcations is reflected by their quantum counterpart. Good agreement is found with semiclassical predictions