The Quantum Emergence of Chaos (original) (raw)
Related papers
2005
The relationship between chaos and quantum mechanics has been somewhat uneasy -even stormy, in the minds of some people. However, much of the confusion may stem from inappropriate comparisons using formal analyses. In contrast, our starting point here is that a complete dynamical description requires a full understanding of the evolution of measured systems, necessary to explain actual experimental results. This is of course true, both classically and quantum mechanically. Because the evolution of the physical state is now conditioned on measurement results, the dynamics of such systems is intrinsically nonlinear even at the level of distribution functions. Due to this feature, the physically more complete treatment reveals the existence of dynamical regimes -such as chaos -that have no direct counterpart in the linear (unobserved) case. Moreover, this treatment allows for understanding how an effective classical behavior can result from the dynamics of an observed quantum system, both at the level of trajectories as well as distribution functions. Finally, we have the striking prediction that time-series from measured quantum systems can be chaotic far from the classical regime, with Lyapunov exponents differing from their classical values. These predictions can be tested in next-generation experiments.
Continuous Quantum Measurement and the Emergence of Classical Chaos
Physical Review Letters, 2000
We formulate the conditions under which the dynamics of a continuously measured quantum system becomes indistinguishable from that of the corresponding classical system. In particular, we demonstrate that even in a classically chaotic system the quantum state vector conditioned by the measurement remains localized and, under these conditions, follows a trajectory characterized by the classical Lyapunov exponent.
Does quantum chaos exist? (A quantum Lyapunov exponents approach.)
1998
We shortly review the progress in the domain of deterministic chaos for quantum dynamical systems. With the appropriately extended definition of quantum Lyapunov exponent we analyze various quantum dynamical maps. It is argued that, within Quantum Mechanics, irregular evolution for properly chosen observables can coexist with regular and predictable evolution of states.
Transition to classical chaos in a coupled quantum system through continuous measurement
Physical Review A, 2004
Continuous observation of a quantum system yields a measurement record that faithfully reproduces the classically predicted trajectory provided that the measurement is sufficiently strong to localize the state in phase space but weak enough that quantum backaction noise is negligible. We investigate the conditions under which classical dynamics emerges, via a continuous position measurement, for a particle moving in a harmonic well with its position coupled to internal spin. As a consequence of this coupling, we find that classical dynamics emerges only when the position and spin actions are both large compared to ប. These conditions are quantified by placing bounds on the size of the covariance matrix which describes the delocalized quantum coherence over extended regions of phase space. From this result, it follows that a mixed quantum-classical regime (where one subsystem can be treated classically and the other not) does not exist for a continuously observed spin-1 2 particle. When the conditions for classicality are satisfied (in the large-spin limit), the quantum trajectories reproduce both the classical periodic orbits as well as the classically chaotic phase space regions. As a quantitative test of this convergence, we compute the largest Lyapunov exponent directly from the measured quantum trajectories and show that it agrees with the classical value.
Chaos and quantum-nondemolition measurements
Physical Review A, 1991
The problem of chaotic behavior in quantum mechanics is investigated against the background of the theory of quantum-nondemolition (QND) measurements. The analysis is based on two relevant features: The outcomes of a sequence of QND measurements are unambiguously predictable, and these measurements actually can be performed on one single system without perturbating its time evolution. Consequently, QND measurements represent an appropriate framework to analyze the conditions for the occurrence of "deterministic randomness" in quantum systems. The general arguments are illustrated by a discussion of a quantum system with a time evolution that possesses nonvanishing algorithmic complexity.
1993
Using the decoherence formalism of Gell-Mann and Hartle, a quantum system is found which is the equivalent of the classical chaotic Duffing oscillator. The similarities and the differences from the classical oscillator are examined; in particular, a new concept of quantum maps is introduced, and alterations in the classical strange attractor due to the presence of scale- dependent quantum effects are studied. Classical quantities such as the Lyapunov exponents and fractal dimension are examined, and quantum analogs are suggested. These results are generalized into a framework for quantum dissipative chaos, and there is a brief discussion of other work in this area.
Intrinsic chaoticity in stable classical systems and quantum fluctuations
1997
We postulate the existence of a universal Keplerian tremor for any stable classical complex system on every scale. Deriving the characteristic unit of action α for each classical interaction, we obtain in all cases α ∼ = h, Planck action constant, suggesting that quantization might be connected to an intrinsic chaoticity needed to assure the stability of matter. Introducing temperature, we provide further consistency checks corroborating our hypothesis.
Quantum chaos: An entropy approach
Journal of Mathematical Physics, 1994
A new definition of the entropy of a given dynamical system and of an instrument describing the measurement process is proposed within the operational approach to quantum mechanics. It generalizes other definitions of entropy, in both the classical and quantum cases. The Kolmogorov-Sinai (KS) entropy is obtained for a classical system and the sharp measurement instrument. For a quantum system and a coherent states instrument, a new quantity, coherent states entropy, is defined. It may be used to measure chaos in quantum mechanics. The following correspondence principle is proved: the upper limit of the coherent states entropy of a quantum map as h-+0 is less than or equal to the KS-entropy of the corresponding classical map.