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Fluctuations and decoherence in chaos-assisted tunneling
Daniel A Steck1, Windell H Oskay, Mark G Raizen
1Department of Physics and Center for Nonlinear Dynamics, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712-1081, USA.
Physical Review Letters
|March 23, 2002
Summary
We investigated quantum dynamical tunneling in a chaotic system using cesium atoms. Results show chaos-assisted tunneling is sensitive to noise, especially at smaller effective Planck constants.
Area of Science:
- Quantum physics
- Atomic physics
- Chaos theory
Background:
- Quantum dynamical tunneling is a phenomenon where quantum systems transition between states.
- Classically chaotic systems exhibit complex, unpredictable behavior.
- Cesium atoms in modulated light fields provide a controllable experimental platform.
Purpose of the Study:
- To study quantum dynamical tunneling between stability islands in a chaotic system.
- To investigate the role of chaos in assisting tunneling dynamics.
- To examine the influence of noise on tunneling oscillations.
Main Methods:
- Experimental setup using cesium atoms in an amplitude-modulated standing wave of light.
- Analysis of tunneling dynamics dependence on system parameters.
- Observation of tunneling oscillations under noisy perturbations.
Main Results:
- Evidence for chaos-assisted (three-state) tunneling was observed.
- Noisy perturbations were found to destroy tunneling oscillations.
- Tunneling sensitivity to noise increases with smaller effective Planck constants.
Conclusions:
- Chaos plays a crucial role in facilitating quantum tunneling.
- Quantum tunneling in chaotic systems is highly susceptible to external noise.
- The effective Planck constant influences the robustness of tunneling against noise.