Universal quantum localizing transition of a partial barrier in a chaotic sea

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Matthias Michler - , TUD Dresden University of Technology (Author)
  • Arnd Bäcker - , Chair of Computational Physics, Max-Planck-Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems (Author)
  • Roland Ketzmerick - , Chair of Computational Physics, Max-Planck-Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems (Author)
  • Hans Jürgen Stöckmann - , University of Marburg (Author)
  • Steven Tomsovic - , Max-Planck-Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Washington State University Pullman (Author)

Abstract

Generic 2D Hamiltonian systems possess partial barriers in their chaotic phase space that restrict classical transport. Quantum mechanically, the transport is suppressed if Planck's constant h is large compared to the classical flux, hΦ, such that wave packets and states are localized. In contrast, classical transport is mimicked for h Φ. Designing a quantum map with an isolated partial barrier of controllable flux Φ is the key to investigating the transition from this form of quantum localization to mimicking classical transport. It is observed that quantum transport follows a universal transition curve as a function of the expected scaling parameter Φ/h. We find this curve to be symmetric to Φ/h=1, having a width of 2 orders of magnitude in Φ/h, and exhibiting no quantized steps. We establish the relevance of local coupling, improving on previous random matrix models relying on global coupling. It turns out that a phenomenological 2×2 model gives an accurate analytical description of the transition curve.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number234101
JournalPhysical review letters
Volume109
Issue number23
Publication statusPublished - 3 Dec 2012
Peer-reviewedYes

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