Theoretical derivation of 1/f noise in quantum chaos

It was recently conjectured that 1/f noise is a fundamental characteristic of spectral fluctuations in chaotic quantum systems. This conjecture is based on the power spectrum behavior of the excitation energy fluctuations, which is different for chaotic and integrable systems. Using random matrix theory, we derive theoretical expressions that explain without free parameters the universal behavior of the excitation energy fluctuations power spectrum. The theory gives excellent agreement with numerical calculations and reproduces to a good approximation the 1/f (1/f(2)) power law characteristic of chaotic (integrable) systems. Moreover, the theoretical results are valid for semiclassical systems as well.     

Quantum chaos and 1/f noise

It is shown that the energy spectrum fluctuations of quantum systems can be formally considered as a discrete time series. The power spectrum behavior of such a signal for different systems suggests the following conjecture: The energy spectra of chaotic quantum systems are characterized by 1/f noise.     

Observation of non-Gaussian conductance fluctuations at low temperatures in Si:P(b) at the metal-insulator transition

We report investigations of conductance fluctuations (with 1/f(alpha) power spectra) in doped silicon at low temperatures (T<20 K) as it is tuned through the metal-insulator transition (MIT) by changing the carrier concentration n. The scaled magnitude of noise, gamma(H), increases with decreasing T following an approximate power law gamma(H) approximately T-beta. At low T, gamma(H) diverges as n decreases through the critical concentration n(c), accompanied by a growth of low-frequency spectral weight. The second spectrum and probability density of the fluctuations show strong non-Gaussian behavior below 20 K as n/n(c) decreases through 1. This is interpreted as the onset of a glassy freezing of the electronic system across the MIT.     

Scaling properties of resonant electron transfer in ion—metal-surface interactions

Scaling properties of resonant electron transfer in the interaction of atoms and positive ions with metal surfaces are revealed by examining the dependence of numerically calculated transition matrix elements and (first-order) transition rates upon the scaled ion-surface distance D = D/D_n, where D_n is the classical threshold distance for electron transfer involving ionic stat principal quantum number n. For zero orbital angular momentum and fixed energy of the ionic states, the n-dependence of the rates at D = 1 is found to approach, in the large-n limit, a simple power law. A scaling law is established that connects, in the range D 1, transition rates for arbitrary (large) principal quantum numbers.     

Spectral properties of inviscid solutions of the burgers equation with random initial conditions

The Burgers equation with random self-similar initial conditions is investigated numerically in the inviscid limit by a parallel fast Legendre transform algorithm, using Connection Machine CM-200. The use of this equation for solving the problem of nervous impulse propagation through axons is discussed. An attempt is made to simulate recent experiments where the form of the density of propagated nerve impulses, which initially had a power spectrum close to a white noise distribution, appeared similar to the triangular pulses that arise in the inviscid Burgers equation and where the 1/f power law was observed on scales larger than the typical time interval between pulses. It is shown that in the inviscid Burgers equation model the power spectra for different types of initial conditions in the developed Burgers turbulence regime (i.e., at a sufficiently large time) consists of two parts with a rather sharp transition between them: The spectrum virtually coincides with the initial spectra for low wavenumbers, and the 1/f² law holds for high wavenumbers. There is no interval with an intermediate power law dependence such as 1/f. It is inferred that the true 1/f spectrum of nerve impulses propagating through axons cannot be explained in terms of the Burgers equation model and that other mechanisms must be taken into account.The Stockholm University, Sweden, and the Institute for Continuous Media Mechanics, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Perm', Russia. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 38, Nos. 3–4, pp. 225–231, March–April, 1995.     

Onset of glassy dynamics in a two-dimensional electron system in silicon

The fluctuations of conductivity sigma with time have been studied in a two-dimensional electron system in low-mobility Si inversion layers. The noise power spectrum is approximately 1/f(alpha) with alpha exhibiting a sharp jump at an electron density n(s) = n(g). A huge increase in the relative variance of sigma is observed as n(s) is reduced below n(g), reflecting a dramatic slowing down of the electron dynamics. This is attributed to the freezing of the electron glass. The data strongly suggest that glassy dynamics persists in the metallic phase.     

Scaling of atmosphere and ocean temperature correlations in observations and climate models

Power-law scaling of near surface air temperature fluctuations and its geographical distribution is analyzed in 100-yr observations and in a 1000-yr simulation of the present-day climate with a complex atmosphere-ocean model. In observations and simulation detrended fluctuation analysis leads to the scaling exponent alpha approximately 1 over the oceans, alpha approximately 0.5 over the inner continents, and alpha approximately 0.65 in transition regions [spectrum S(f) approximately f(-beta),beta=2alpha-1]. Scaling up to decades is demonstrated in observations and coupled atmosphere-ocean models with complex and mixed-layer oceans. Only with the complex ocean model the simulated power laws extend up to centuries.     

Universal canonical entropy for gravitating systems

The thermodynamics of general relativistic systems with boundary, obeying a Hamiltonian constraint in the bulk, is determined solely by the boundary quantum dynamics, and hence by the area spectrum. Assuming, for large area of the boundary, (a) an area spectrum as determined by non-perturbative canonical quantum general relativity (NCQGR), (b) an energy spectrum that bears a power law relation to the area spectrum, (c) an area law for the leading order microcanonical entropy, leading thermal fluctuation corrections to the canonical entropy are shown to be logarithmic in area with a universal coefficient. Since the microcanonical entropy also has universal logarithmic corrections to the area law (from quantum space-time fluctuations, as found earlier) the canonical entropy then has a universal form including logarithmic corrections to the area law. This form is shown to be independent of the index appearing in assumption (b). The index, however, is crucial in ascertaining the domain of validity of our approach based on thermal equilibrium.     

Harmonic measure and winding of conformally invariant curves

The exact joint multifractal distribution for the scaling and winding of the electrostatic potential lines near any conformally invariant scaling curve is derived in two dimensions. Its spectrum f(alpha,lambda) gives the Hausdorff dimension of the points where the potential scales with distance r as H approximately r(alpha) while the curve logarithmically spirals with a rotation angle phi=lambdalnr. It obeys the scaling law f(alpha,lambda)=(1+lambda(2))f(alpha)-blambda(2) with alpha=alpha/(1+lambda(2)) and b=(25-c)/12, and where f(alpha) identical with f(alpha,0) is the pure harmonic measure spectrum, and c the conformal central charge. The results apply to O(N) and Potts models, as well as to stochastic L?wner evolution.     

Photoluminescence internal quantum yield in superlattices

We show that the internal quantum yield of a GaAs/AlAs superlattice (SL) can be directly obtained from the height of the step observed in the photoluminescence (PL) excitation spectrum of the underlying GaAs layer when the excitation energy is scanned across the SL transition. From a study of the dependence of the SL and GaAs PL on the excitation power density and energy and on temperature, we are able to specify the conditions of applicability of this method. The importance of power non-linearities, reabsorption and photon recycling effects are discussed.     

Fluctuating topological defects in 2D liquids: heterogeneous motion and noise

We measure the defect density as a function of time at different temperatures in simulations of a two-dimensional system of interacting particles. Just above the solid to liquid transition temperature, the power spectrum of the defect fluctuations shows a 1/f signature, which crosses over to a white noise signature at higher temperatures. When 1/f noise is present, the 5-7 defects predominantly form stringlike structures, and the particle trajectories show a 1D correlated motion that follows the defect strings. At higher temperatures this heterogeneous motion is lost.     

Quantum statistical dynamics: Statistics origin,measurement, and irreversibility

It is shown that in the quantum theory of systems with a finite number of degrees of freedom which employs a set of algebraic states, a statistical element introduced by averaging the mean values of operators over the distribution of continuous quantities (a spectrum point of a canonical operator and time) is conserved for the limiting transition to the distribution. On that basis, quantum statistical dynamics, i.e., a theory in which dynamics (time evolution) includes a statistical element, is advanced. The theory is equivalent to orthodox quantum mechanics as regards the orthodox states, but is essentially different with respect to the coherence properties in a continuous spectrum. The measurement-process theory, including the statistical interpretation of quantum mechanics, and the irreversibility theory are constructed, and the law of increasing chaos, which is a strengthening of the law of entropy increase, is obtained. In our theory, mechanics and statistics are organically connected, whereby the fundamental nature of probabilities in quantum physics manifests itself.     

Nonlinear adiabatic passage from fermion atoms to boson molecules

We study the dynamics of an adiabatic sweep through a Feshbach resonance in a quantum gas of fermionic atoms. Analysis of the dynamical equations, supported by mean-field and many-body numerical results, shows that the dependence of the remaining atomic fraction Gamma on the sweep rate alpha varies from exponential Landau-Zener behavior for a single pair of particles to a power-law dependence for large particle number N. The power law is linear, Gamma is proportional to alpha, when the initial molecular fraction is smaller than the 1/N quantum fluctuations, and Gamma is proportional to alpha(1/3) when it is larger. Experimental data agree well with a linear dependence, but do not conclusively rule out the Landau-Zener model.     

Fractionalization via Z(2) gauge fields at a cold-atom quantum Hall transition

We study a single species of fermionic atoms in an "effective" magnetic field at total filling factor ν(f)=1, interacting through a p-wave Feshbach resonance, and show that the system undergoes a quantum phase transition from a ν(f)=1 fermionic integer quantum Hall state to ν(b)=1/4 bosonic fractional quantum Hall state as a function of detuning. The transition is in the (2+1)D Ising universality class. We formulate a dual theory in terms of quasiparticles interacting with a Z(2) gauge field and show that charge fractionalization follows from this topological quantum phase transition. Experimental consequences and possible tests of our theoretical predictions are discussed.     

Spectral fluctuations and 1/f noise in the order-chaos transition regime

Level fluctuations in a quantum system have been used to characterize quantum chaos using random matrix models. Recently time series methods were used to relate the level fluctuations to the classical dynamics in the regular and chaotic limit. In this, we show that the spectrum of the system undergoing order to chaos transition displays a characteristic f(-gamma) noise and gamma is correlated with the classical chaos in the system. We demonstrate this using a smooth potential and a time-dependent system modeled by Gaussian and circular ensembles, respectively, of random matrix theory. We show the effect of short periodic orbits on these fluctuation measures.     

Cavity‐Photon‐Induced High‐Order Transitions between Ground States of Quantum Dots

It is shown that quantum electromagnetic transitions to high orders are essential to describe the time‐dependent path of a nanoscale electron system in a Coulomb blockade regime when coupled to external leads and placed in a 3D rectangular photon cavity. The electronic system consists of two quantum dots embedded asymmetrically in a short quantum wire. The two lowest in energy spin degenerate electron states are mostly localized in each dot with only a tiny probability in the other dot. In the presence of the leads, a slow high‐order transition between the ground states of the two quantum dots is identified. The Fourier power spectrum for photon–photon correlations in the steady state shows a Fano type of resonance for the frequency of the slow transition. Full account is taken of the geometry of the multilevel electronic system, and the electron–electron Coulomb interactions together with the para‐ and diamagnetic electron–photon interactions are treated with step‐wise exact numerical diagonalization and truncation of appropriate many‐body Fock spaces. The matrix elements for all interactions are computed analytically or numerically exactly.     

Quantum chaos of atoms in a resonant cavity

A system of atoms interacting with a radiation field in a resonant cavity is studied under conditions when the dynamics in the classical limit is stochastic. This situation is called quantum chaos. Equations of motion are obtained for the quantum-mechanical expectation values which take into account the quantum correlation functions. It is shown that in a situation corresponding to quantum chaos, the quantum corrections grow exponentially, making the evolution of the system essentially quantal after a certain time tau( variant Planck's over 2pi ) has elapsed. Analytical and numerical analysis show that in this regime the time tau( variant Planck's over 2pi ) obeys the logarithmic law tau( variant Planck's over 2pi ) approximately ln N (N is the number of atoms), and not the law tau( variant Planck's over 2pi ) approximately N(alpha) (alpha is a certain constant of order unity), as would be the case in the absence of chaos.     

Two-dimensional dynamics of metal nanoparticles on the surface of thin polymer films studied with coherent X rays

X-ray photon-correlation spectroscopy is used to measure the dynamic structure factor f(q,tau) of gold particles moving on the surface of thin polymer films. Above the glass transition of the polymer the peculiar form f(q,tau) approximately exp[-(Gamma tau)(alpha)] is found with 0.7 < alpha < 1.5, depending on sample age and temperature. The relaxation rates Gamma scale linearly with q, excluding a simple Brownian diffusive motion. This type of behavior, already observed in aging bulk soft matter systems, is explained by a power law distribution of particle velocities due to ballistic motion.     

Mott transition of excitons in coupled quantum wells

In this work we study the phase diagram of indirect excitons in coupled quantum wells and show that the system undergoes a phase transition to an unbound electron-hole plasma. This transition is manifested as an abrupt change in the photoluminescence linewidth and peak energy at some critical power density and temperature. By measuring the exciton diamagnetism, we show that the transition is associated with an abrupt increase in the exciton radius. We find that the transition is stimulated by the presence of direct excitons in one of the wells and show that they serve as a catalyst of the transition.     

Plateau Behavior in the Chiral Luttinger Liquid Exponent

The current-voltage power law exponent, alpha, for electron tunneling into chiral Luttinger liquids at the fractional quantum Hall edge is found to exhibit a plateaulike structure at alpha close to 3 as the filling factor, nu, is varied. The presence of a plateau near alpha = 3 strongly suggests a fundamental connection between alpha and the structure of the underlying quantum ground states associated with the robust incompressible nu = 1/3 Hall fluid. However, the position in the inverse filling factor where the plateau occurs can vary between samples and appears shifted to values higher than expected from theory.