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Updated: Aug 18, 2026

An Analog Macroscopic Technique for Studying Molecular Hydrodynamic Processes in Dense Gases and Liquids
Published on: December 4, 2017
Failure of random matrix theory to correctly describe quantum dynamics
Abstract:
Consider a classically chaotic system that is described by a Hamiltonian H(0). At t=0 the Hamiltonian undergoes a sudden change (H)0-->H. We consider the quantum-mechanical spreading of the evolving energy distribution, and argue that it cannot be analyzed using a conventional random-matrix theory (RMT) approach. Conventional RMT can be trusted only to the extent that it gives trivial results that are implied by first-order perturbation theory. Nonperturbative effects are sensitive to the underlying classical dynamics, and therefore the Planck's over 2 pi-->0 behavior for effective RMT models is strikingly different from the correct semiclassical limit.
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