Spectra of regular quantum graphs

We consider a class of simple quasi-one-dimensional classically nonintegrable systems that capture the essence of the periodic orbit structure of general hyperbolic nonintegrable dynamical systems. Their behavior is sufficiently simple to allow a detailed investigation of both classical and quantum regimes. Despite their classical chaoticity, these systems exhibit a “nonintegrable analogue” of the Einstein-Brillouin-Keller quantization formula that provides their spectra explicitly, state by state, by means of convergent periodic orbit expansions.     

Quantum poincaré algebra with standard real structure

A new real quantum Poincaré algebra which is a standard *-Hopf algebra is obtained by the construction of U_q (O(3,2)) (q real). The deformation parameter K is mass-like, and the classical Poincaré algebra is obtained in the limit K → ∞. For our K-Poincaré algebra both Casimirs are given.     

Integrable vs. nonintegrable geodesic soliton behavior

We study confined solutions of certain evolutionary partial differential equations (PDE) in 1+1 space–time. The PDE we study are Lie–Poisson Hamiltonian systems for quadratic Hamiltonians defined on the dual of the Lie algebra of vector fields on the real line. These systems are also Euler–Poincaré equations for geodesic motion on the diffeomorphism group in the sense of the Arnold program for ideal fluids, but where the kinetic energy metric is different from theL² norm of the velocity. These PDE possess a finite-dimensional invariant manifold of particle-like (measure-valued) solutions we call “pulsons”. We solve the particle dynamics of the two-pulson interaction analytically as a canonical Hamiltonian system for geodesic motion with two degrees of freedom and a conserved momentum. The result of this two-pulson interaction for rear-end collisions is elastic scattering with a phase shift, as occurs with solitons. The results for head-on antisymmetric collisions of pulsons tend to be singularity formation. Numerical simulations of these PDE show that their evolution by geodesic dynamics for confined (or compact) initial conditions in various nonintegrable cases possesses the same type of multi-soliton behavior (elastic collisions, asymptotic sorting by pulse height) as the corresponding integrable cases do. We conjecture this behavior occurs because the integrable two-pulson interactions dominate the dynamics on the invariant pulson manifold, and this dynamics dominates the PDE initial value problem for most choices of confined pulses and initial conditions of finite extent.     

Classical no-cloning theorem

A classical version of the no-cloning theorem is discussed. We show that an arbitrary probability distribution associated with a (source) system cannot be copied onto another (target) system while leaving the original distribution of the source system unperturbed. For classical dynamical systems such a perfect cloning process is not permitted by the Liouvillian (ensemble) evolution associated with the joint probability distribution of the composite source-target-copying machine system.     

Quantum signatures of chaos or quantum chaos?

A critical analysis of the present-day concept of chaos in quantum systems as nothing but a “quantum signature” of chaos in classical mechanics is given. In contrast to the existing semi-intuitive guesses, a definition of classical and quantum chaos is proposed on the basis of the Liouville–Arnold theorem: a quantum chaotic system featuring N degrees of freedom should have M < N independent first integrals of motion (good quantum numbers) specified by the symmetry of the Hamiltonian of the system. Quantitative measures of quantum chaos that, in the classical limit, go over to the Lyapunov exponent and the classical stability parameter are proposed. The proposed criteria of quantum chaos are applied to solving standard problems of modern dynamical chaos theory.     

Thermodynamical and Green function many-body Wick theorems

The thermodynamical and Green function many-body reduction theorems of Wick type are proved for the arbitrary mixtures of the fermion, boson and spin systems. “Many-body” means that the operators used are the products of the arbitrary number of one-body standard basis operators [of the fermion or (and) spin types] with different site (wave vector) indices, but having the same “time” (in the interaction representation). The method of proving is based on: 1) the first-order differential equation of Schwinger type for: 1a) -product of operators; 1b) its average value; 2) KMS boundary conditions for this average. It is shown that the fermion, boson and spin systems can be unified in the many-body formulation (bosonification of the fermion systems). It is impossible in the one-body approach. Both of the many-body versions of the Wick theorem have the recurrent feature: nth order moment diagrams for the free energy or Green functions can be expressed by the (n −1)th order ones. This property corresponds to the automatic realization of: (i) summations over Bose-Einstein or (and) Fermi-Dirac frequencies; (ii) elimination of Bose-Einstein or (and) Fermi-Dirac distributions. The procedures (i) and (ii), being the results of using the Green function one-body reduction theorem, have constituted the significant difficulty up to now in the treatment of quantum systems.     

Closed time-like curves in flat Lorentz space–times

We consider the region of closed time-like curves (CTCs) in three-dimensional flat Lorentz space–times. The interest in this global geometrical feature goes beyond the purely mathematical one. Such space–times are lower-dimensional toy models of sourceless Einstein gravity or cosmology. In three dimensions all such space–times are known: they are quotients of Minkowski space by a suitable group of Poincaré isometries. The presence of CTCs would indicate the possibility of “time machines”, a region of space–time where an object can travel along in time and revisit the same event. Such space–times also provide a testbed for the chronology protection conjecture, which suggests that quantum back reaction would eliminate CTCs. In particular, our interest in this note will be to find the set free of CTCs for , where is modeled on Minkowski space and γ is a Poincaré transformation. We describe the set free of CTCs where γ is hyperbolic, parabolic, and elliptic.     

A new quantum representation for canonical gravity and SU(2) Yang-Mills theory

Starting from Rovelli-Smolin's infinite-dimensional graded Poisson-bracket algebra of loop variables, we propose a new way of constructing a corresponding quantum representation. After eliminating certain quadratic constraints, we “integrate” an infinite-dimensional subalgebra of loop variables, using a formal group law expansion. With the help of techniques from the representation theory of semidirect-product groups, we find an exact quantum representation of the full classical Poisson-bracket algebra of loop variables, without any higher-order correction terms. This opens new ways of tackling the quantum dynamics for both canonical gravity and Yang-Mills theory.     

Poincaré's theorem and unitary transformations for classical and quantum systems

Poincaré's celebrated theorem on the nonexistence of analytical invariants of motion is extended to the case of a continuous spectrum to deal with large classical and quantum systems. It is shown that Poincaré's theorem applies to situations where there exist continuous sets of resonances. This condition is equivalent to the nonvanishing of the asymptotic collision operator as defined in modern kinetic theory. Typical examples are systems presenting relaxation processes or exhibiting unstable quantum levels. As the result of Poincaré's theorem, the unitary transformation, leading to a cyclic Hamiltonian in classical mechanics or to the diagonalization of the Hamiltonian operator in quantum mechanics, diverges. We obtain therefore a dynamical classification of large classical or quantum systems. This is of special interest for quantum systems as, historically, quantum mechanics has been formulated following closely the patterns of classical integrable systems. The well known results of Friedrichs concerning the coupling of discrete states with a continuum are recovered. However, the role of the collision operator suggests new ways of eliminating the divergence in the unitary transformation theory.     

Pseudo-billiards

A new class of Hamiltonian dynamical systems with two degrees of freedom and kinetic energy of the form T = c₁|p₁| + c₂|p₂| (called “pseudo-billiards”) is studied. For any kind of interaction, the canonical equations can always be integrated on sequential time intervals; i.e. in principle all the trajectories can be found explicitly.

Depending on the potential, a dynamical system of this class can either be completely integrable or behave just as a usual non-integrable Hamiltonian system with two degrees of freedom: in its phase space there exist invariant tori, stochastic layers, domains of global chaos, etc. Pseudo-billiard models of both the types are considered.

If a potential of a pseudo-billiard system has critical points (equilibria), then trajectories close to these points (“loops”) can exist; they can be treated as images of self-localized objects with finite duration. Such a model (with quartic potential) is also studied.     

Analysis of the mean values and fluctuations in the chaotic maser model

Recently obtained results on the quantum “grid” of mean values of observables in the energy representation for the maser model is here compared with the classical results calculated via the microcanonical mean values using the classical hamiltonian. Our main result is the evidence that such comparison does work for all regimes from regular to chaotic (but not necessarily ergodic). We show evidences that such quantum fluctuation around the classical average depend on the oscillations of the size and the position of the classical stable region merged in the chaotic sea. Also, depending on the choice of the observable being associated to compact phase space (spin) or infinite phase space (boson) the spreading around the mean can become larger or smaller.     

The modular automorphism group of a Poisson manifold

The modular flow of Poisson manifold is a 1-parameter group of automorphisms determined by the choice of a smooth density on the manifold. When the density is changed, the generator of the group changes by a hamiltonian vector field, so one has a 1-parameter group of “outer automorphisms” intrinsically attached to any Poisson manifold. The group is trivial if and only if the manifold admits a measure which is invariant under all hamiltonian flows.

The notion of modular flow in Poisson geometry is a classical limit of the notion of modular automorphism group in the theory of von Neumann algebras. In addition, the modular flow of a Poisson manifold is related to modular cohomology classes for associated Lie algebroids and symplectic groupoids. These objects have recently turned out to be important in Poincaré duality theory for Lie algebroids.     

Network ecology: topological constraints on ecosystem dynamics

Ecological systems are complex assemblages of various species with interactions between them. The interactions can be even more important than the species themselves for understanding how the whole system is functioning and organized. For the representation of the topological space of interspecific relationships, graph theory is a suitable mathematical tool: the network perspective and the various techniques of network analysis are more and more elaborated and invading ecology. Beyond a static view on networks, fundamental questions can only be answered if dynamical analyses are also made, and now it is clear that structural and dynamical studies must not “compete” but strongly complement each other. Our aim is to give a menu of classical and more recently suggested network indices and to discuss what do we know about their relations to ecosystem dynamics. Since ecologists have very diverse problems, they need diverse techniques and a good insight in matching the adequate method to a particular problem. The main question is how to link certain graph properties to understanding and predicting the behaviour of an ecosystem. We wish to contribute to bridging the gap between extreme structural and extreme dynamical views.     

Cosmology and celestial mechanics

The similarities between cosmology and celestial mechanics are discussed from the scientific and historical points of view and the scientific aims of these two fields are compared. Newton's and Poincaré's contributions to celestial mechanics, dynamics, and cosmology are presented. The recently established instability of triple stellar configurations is discussed to relate results of this classical, nonintegrable problem of celestial mechanics to cosmology and to offer an example for order out of chaos. It is shown that the presently emphasized reasons for limited predictability in dynamical systems are closely related to some of the existing basic difficulties in cosmology.     

Some formal aspects of subdynamics

The theory of subdynamics is formulated assuming the existence of a spectral representation of the collision operator. This approach avoids perturbation schemes; however the presentation is formal. It may be used to develop further the theory as well as a starting point for a rigorous mathematical discussion. The construction of the operators introduced in the theory of subdynamics is presented in detail. Some questions related to the transformation theory leading to the so-called “physical representation” are briefly discussed.     

Duality theorems in BRST cohomology

In classical mechanics, there is no duality theorem relating the BRST cohomologies at positive and negative ghost numbers since these generically fail to be isomorphic. It is shown in this paper, however, that a duality theorem for the BRST operator cohomology can be established in quantum mechanics. Furthermore, when the hermicity properties of the quantum BRST formalism—which are in general just formal—turn out to be actually well defined, this duality theorem also holds for the state cohomology, as a consequence of the non degenerate pairing between subspaces at positive and negative ghost numbers defined by the BRST scalar product. In the case of gauge systems quantized in the Schrödinger representation with compact gauge orbits, the duality theorem contains ordinary Poincaré duality for a compact manifold. In the Fock representation, the duality theorem sheds a new light on existing decoupling theorems. The comparison with the classical situation is also briefly discussed.