Quantum transport and classical dynamics in open billiards

We report numerical results of an investigation of quantum transport for a weakly opened integrable circle and chaotic stadium billiards with a pair of conducting leads. While the statistics of spacings of resonance energies commonly follow the Wigner (GOE)-like distribution, the electric conductance as a function of the Fermi wavenumber shows characteristic noisy fluctuations associated with a typical set of classical orbits unique for both billiards. The wavenumber autocorrelation for the conductance is stronger in the stadium than the circle billiard, which we show is related to the length spectrum of classical short orbits. We propose an explanation of these contrasts in terms of the effect of phase decoherence due to the underlying chaotic dynamics.     

Proximity-induced subgaps in andreev billiards

We examine the density of states of an Andreev billiard and show that any billiard with a finite upper cutoff in the path length distribution P(s) will possess an energy gap on the scale of the Thouless energy. An exact quantum mechanical calculation for different Andreev billiards gives good agreement with the semiclassical predictions when the energy dependent phase shift for Andreev reflections is properly taken into account. Based on this new semiclassical Bohr-Sommerfeld approximation of the density of states, we derive a simple formula for the energy gap. We show that the energy gap, in units of Thouless energy, may exceed the value predicted earlier from random matrix theory for chaotic billiards.     

Nodal domains statistics: a criterion for quantum chaos

We consider the distribution of the (properly normalized) numbers of nodal domains of wave functions in 2D quantum billiards. We show that these distributions distinguish clearly between systems with integrable (separable) or chaotic underlying classical dynamics, and for each case the limiting distribution is universal (system independent). Thus, a new criterion for quantum chaos is provided by the statistics of the wave functions, which complements the well-established criterion based on spectral statistics.     

On the signs of quantum chaos in a scattering billiard K system with kinks of the lateral boundary

Signs of quantum chaos in the spectra of linear Hamiltonian systems including scattering billiards of various configurations with kinks of the lateral surface have been experimentally studied. A billiard with kinks of the lateral surface at which the second derivative is indefinite constitutes a scattering K system. As a result, the spectrum of such a billiard and the corresponding model resonator becomes chaotic and the distribution of spectral intervals is close to a Wigner distribution. The spectral rigidity curves have been measured for a model microwave cavity whose shape is similar to the scattering billiard with kinks of the lateral surface. It has been found that the characteristics of the chaotic spectrum, the distribution of the spectral intervals, and the spectral rigidity curves for billiards with kinks of the lateral boundary exhibit signs of quantum chaos.     

Chaotic dephasing in a double-slit scattering experiment

We design a computational experiment in which a quantum particle tunnels into a billiard of variable shape and scatters out of it through a double-slit opening on the billiard's base. The interference patterns produced by the scattered probability currents for a range of energies are investigated in relation to the billiard's geometry which is connected to its classical integrability. Four billiards with hierarchical integrability levels are considered: integrable, pseudointegrable, weak-mixing, and strongly chaotic. In agreement with the earlier result by Casati and Prosen [Phys. Rev. A 72, 032111 (2005)], we find the billiard's integrability to have a crucial influence on the properties of the interference patterns. In the integrable case, most experiment outcomes are found to be consistent with the constructive interference occurring in the usual double-slit experiment. In contrast to this, nonintegrable billiards typically display asymmetric interference patterns of smaller visibility characterized by weakly correlated wave function values at the two slits. Our findings indicate an intrinsic connection between the classical integrability and the quantum dephasing, which is responsible for the destruction of interference.     

Chaos-assisted tunneling and 1/falpha spectral fluctuations in the order-chaos transition

It has been shown that the spectral fluctuations of different quantum systems are characterized by 1/falpha noise, with 1< or =alpha< or =2, in the transition from integrability to chaos. This result is not well understood. We show that chaos-assisted tunneling gives rise to this power-law behavior. We develop a random matrix model for intermediate quantum systems, based on chaos-assisted tunneling, and we discuss under which conditions it displays 1/falpha noise in the transition from integrability to chaos. We conclude that the variance of the elements that connect regular with chaotic states must decay with the difference of energy between them. We compare the characteristics of the transition modeled in this way with what is obtained for the Robnik billiard.     

Semiclassical theory of integrable and rough Andreev billiards

We study the effect on the density of states in mesoscopic ballistic billiards to which a superconducting lead is attached. The expression for the density of states is derived in the semiclassical S-matrix formalism shedding light onto the origin of the differences between the semiclassical theory and the corresponding result derived from random matrix models. Applications to a square billiard geometry and billiards with boundary roughness are discussed. The saturation of the quasiparticle excitation spectrum is related to the classical dynamics of the billiard. The influence of weak magnetic fields on the proximity effect in rough Andreev billiards is discussed and an analytical formula is derived. The semiclassical theory provides an interpretation for the suppression of the proximity effect in the presence of magnetic fields as a coherence effect of time reversed trajectories. It is shown to be in good agreement with quantum mechanical calculations. Received 21 August 1999 and Received in final form 21 March 2001     

Scars in nonintegrable and rational billiards

We numerically study quantum mechanical features of the Bunimovich stadium billiard and the rational billiards which approach the former as the number of their sides increases. The statistics of energy levels and eigenfunctions of the rational billiards becomes indistinguishable from that of the Bunimovich stadium billiard below a certain energy. This fact contradicts the classical picture in which the Bunimovich stadium billiard is chaotic, but the rational billiard is pseudointegrable. It is numerically confirmed that the wave functions do not detect the fine structure, which is much smaller than the wavelength.     

Entanglement distribution statistic in Andreev billiards

We investigate statistical aspects of the entanglement production for open chaotic mesoscopic billiards in contact with superconducting parts, known as Andreev billiards. The complete distributions of concurrence and entanglement of formation are obtained by using the Altland–Zirnbauer symmetry classes of circular ensembles of scattering matrices, which complements previous studies in chaotic universal billiards belonging to other classes of random matrix theory. Our results show a unique and very peculiar behavior: the realization of entanglement in a Andreev billiard always results in non-separable state, regardless of the time reversal symmetry. The analytical calculations are supported by a numerical Monte Carlo simulation.     

Conductance and Statistical Properties of Chaotic and Integrable Electron Waveguides

We show that the S-matrix for electrons propagating in a waveguide has different statistical properties depending on whether the waveguide cavity shape gives rise to chaotic or integrable behavior classically. We obtain distributions of energy level spacings for integrable and chaotic billiards shaped like the waveguide cavity. We also obtain distributions for Wigner delay times and resonance widths for the waveguide, for integrable and chaotic cavity geometries. Our results, obtained by direct numerical calculation of the electron wave function, are consistent with the predictions of random matrix theory.     

One-particle and few-particle billiards

We study the dynamics of one-particle and few-particle billiard systems in containers of various shapes. In few-particle systems, the particles collide elastically both against the boundary and against each other. In the one-particle case, we investigate the formation and destruction of resonance islands in (generalized) mushroom billiards, which are a recently discovered class of Hamiltonian systems with mixed regular-chaotic dynamics. In the few-particle case, we compare the dynamics in container geometries whose counterpart one-particle billiards are integrable, chaotic, and mixed. One of our findings is that two-, three-, and four-particle billiards confined to containers with integrable one-particle counterparts inherit some integrals of motion and exhibit a regular partition of phase space into ergodic components of positive measure. Therefore, the shape of a container matters not only for noninteracting particles but also for interacting particles.     

Integrability and ergodicity of classical billiards in a magnetic field

We consider classical billiards in plane, connected, but not necessarily bounded domains. The charged billiard ball is immersed in a homogeneous, stationary magnetic field perpendicular to the plane. The part of dynamics which is not trivially integrable can be described by a bouncing map. We compute a general expression for the Jacobian matrix of this map, which allows us to determine stability and bifurcation values of specific periodic orbits. In some cases, the bouncing map is a twist map and admits a generating function. We give a general form for this function which is useful to do perturbative calculations and to classify periodic orbits. We prove that billiards in convex domains with sufficiently smooth boundaries possess invariant tori corresponding to skipping trajectories. Moreover, in strong field we construct adiabatic invariants over exponentially large times. To some extent, these results remain true for a class of nonconvex billiards. On the other hand, we present evidence that the billiard in a square is ergodic for some large enough values of the magnetic field. A numerical study reveals that the scattering on two circles is essentially chaotic.     

Quantum Monodromy in Prolate Ellipsoidal Billiards

This is the third in a series of three papers on quantum billiards with elliptic and ellipsoidal boundaries. In the present paper we show that the integrable billiard inside a prolate ellipsoid has an isolated singular point in its bifurcation diagram and, therefore, exhibits classical and quantum monodromy. We derive the monodromy matrix from the requirement of smoothness for the action variables for zero angular momentum. The smoothing procedure is illustrated in terms of energy surfaces in action space including the corresponding smooth frequency map. The spectrum of the quantum billiard is computed numerically and the expected change in the basis of the lattice of quantum states is found. The monodromy is already present in the corresponding two-dimensional billiard map. However, the full three degrees of freedom billiard is considered as the system of greater relevance to physics. Therefore, the monodromy is discussed as a truly three-dimensional effect.     

Signatures of quantum chaos in the nodal points and streamlines in electron transport through billiards

Streamlines and the distributions of nodal points are used as signatures of chaos in coherent electron transport through three types of billiards: Sinai, Bunimovich, and rectangular. Numerical averaged distribution functions of the nearest distances between nodal points are presented. We find the same form for the Sinai and Bunimovich billiards and suggest that there is a universal form that can be used as a signature of quantum chaos for electron transport in open billiards. The universal distribution function is found to be insensitive to the way the averaging is performed (over the positions of the leads, over an energy interval with a few conductance fluctuations, or both). The integrable rectangu-lar billiard, on the other hand, displays a nonuniversal distribution with a central peak related to partial order of nodal points for the case of symmetric attachment of the leads. However, cases with asymmetric leads tend to the universal form. Also, it is shown how nodal points in the rectangular billiard can lead to “channeling of quantum flows,” while disorder in the nodal points in the Sinai billiard gives rise to unstable irregular behavior of the flow. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 70, No. 6, 398–404 (25 September 1999) Published in English in the original Russian journal. Edited by Steve Torstveit.     

The local geometry of chaotic billiards

For a billiard of a general shape a transformation is introduced which projects the boundary on the unit circle. This introduces a non-Euclidean metric on the plane which contains all relevant information of the shape of the boundary. Classically the straight lines of the free motion correspond to geodesics and quantum mechanically the energy spectrum is that of Laplace–Beltrami operator with Dirichlet boundary conditions on the unit circle. The geodesic equations are highly non-linear. Nevertheless for the interval between two consecutive scatterings we have two integrals of motion, the kinetic energy and the angular momentum. This fact helps to solve explicitly the geodesic equations. These solutions can be used to derive interesting properties for the classical scattering. Quantum mechanically the spectrum of the above billiards is obtained for certain parameter values both perturbatively for small values of the parameter and also using a diagonalization procedure. This method is applicable to any particular form of a billiard for which the transformation is invertible and can be used on one hand as a quick method of approximate spectral determination and as a theoretical tool to analyse specific properties of integrability and chaos through the associated connection form and the Laplace–Beltrami operator. Finally as a first indication of the potentiality of this method we present a graphical test where for very small deviations from the circular billiard an integrable and two non-integrable billiards can be distinguished by the distribution of the differences of the first order corrections while this distinction is not evident by the usual test for the nearest neighbor level spacings.     

Test of Trace Formulas for Spectra of Superconducting Microwave Billiards

Experimental tests of various trace formulas, which in general relate the density of states for a given quantum mechanical system to the properties of the periodic orbits of its classical counterpart, for spectra of superconducting microwave billiards of varying chaoticity are reviewed by way of examples. For a two-dimensional Bunimovich stadium billiard the application of Gutzwiller's trace formula is shown to yield correctly locations and strengths of the peaks in the Fourier transformed quantum spectrum in terms of the shortest unstable classical periodic orbits. Furthermore, in two-dimensional billiards of the Limaçon family the transition from regular to chaotic dynamics is studied in terms of a recently derived general trace formula by Ullmo, Grinberg and Tomsovic. Finally, some salient features of wave dynamical chaos in a fully chaotic three-dimensional Sinai microwave billiard are discussed. Here the reconstruction of the spectrum is not as straightforward as in the two-dimensional cases and a modified trace formula as suggested by Balian and Duplantier will have eventually to be applied.     

The role of dissipation in time-dependent non-integrable focusing billiards

In this study, we compare the dynamical properties of chaotic and nearly integrable time-dependent focusing billiards with elastic and dissipative boundaries. We show that in the system without dissipation the average velocity of particles scales with the number of collisions as ?V∝n(α). In the fully chaotic case, this scaling corresponds to a diffusion process with α≈1/2, whereas in the nearly integrable case, this dependence has a crossover; slow particles accelerate in a slow subdiffusive manner with α<1/2, while acceleration of fast particles is much stronger and their average velocity grows super-diffusively, i.e., α>1/2. Assuming ?V∝n(α) for a non-dissipative system, we obtain that in its dissipative counterpart the average velocity approaches to ?V(fin)∝1/δ(α), where δ is the damping coefficient. So that ?V(fin)∝√1/δ in the fully chaotic billiards, and the characteristics exponents α changes with δ from α(1)>1/2 to α(2)<1/2 in the nearly integrable systems. We conjecture that in the limit of moderate dissipation the chaotic time-depended billiards can accelerate the particles more efficiently. By contrast, in the limit of small dissipations, the nearly integrable billiards can become the most efficient accelerator. Furthermore, due to the presence of attractors in this system, the particles trajectories will be focused in narrow beams with a discrete velocity spectrum.     

Quantum spectra and classical periodic orbit in the cubic billiard

Quantum billiards have attracted much interest in many fields. People have made a lot of researches on the two-dimensional (2D) billiard systems. Contrary to the 2D billiard, due to the complication of its classical periodic orbits, no one has studied the correspondence between the quantum spectra and the classical orbits of the three-dimensional (3D) billiards. Taking the cubic billiard as an example, using the periodic orbit theory, we find the periodic orbit of the cubic billiard and study the correspondence between the quantum spectra and the length of the classical orbits in 3D system. The Fourier transformed spectrum of this system has allowed direct comparison between peaks in such plot and the length of the periodic orbits, which verifies the correctness of the periodic orbit theory. This is another example showing that semiclassical method provides a bridge between quantum and classical mechanics.     

Nonequilibrium Gas and Generalized Billiards

Generalized billiards describe nonequilibrium gas, consisting of finitely many particles, that move in a container, whose walls heat up or cool down. Generalized billiards can be considered both in the framework of the Newtonian mechanics and of the relativity theory. In the Newtonian case, a generalized billiard may possess an invariant measure; the Gibbs entropy with respect to this measure is constant. On the contrary, generalized relativistic billiards are always dissipative,and the Gibbs entropy with respect to the same measure grows under some natural conditions. In this article, we find the necessary and sufficient conditions for a generalized Newtonian billiard to possess a smooth invariant measure, which is independent of the boundary action: the corresponding classical billiard should have an additional first integral of special type. In particular,the generalized Sinai billiards do not possess a smooth invariant measure. We then consider generalized billiards inside a ball, which is one of the main examples of the Newtonian generalized billiards which does have an invariant measure. We construct explicitly the invariant measure, and find the conditions for the Gibbs entropy growth for the corresponding relativistic billiard both formonotone and periodic action of the boundary.     

A Functional Analytic Approach to Perturbations of the Lorentz Gas

We present a functional analytic framework based on the spectrum of the transfer operator to study billiard maps associated with perturbations of the periodic Lorentz gas. We show that recently constructed Banach spaces for the billiard map of the classical Lorentz gas are flexible enough to admit a wide variety of perturbations, including: movements and deformations of scatterers; billiards subject to external forces; nonelastic reflections with kicks and slips at the boundaries of the scatterers; and random perturbations comprised of these and possibly other classes of maps. The spectra and spectral projections of the transfer operators are shown to vary continuously with such perturbations so that the spectral gap enjoyed by the classical billiard persists and important limit theorems follow.