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Experimental observation of quantum chaos in a beam of light

Author

Listed:
  • Gabriela B. Lemos

    (Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro)

  • Rafael M. Gomes

    (Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro)

  • Stephen P. Walborn

    (Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro)

  • Paulo H. Souto Ribeiro

    (Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro)

  • Fabricio Toscano

    (Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro)

Abstract

The manner in which unpredictable chaotic dynamics manifests itself in quantum mechanics is a key question in the field of quantum chaos. Indeed, very distinct quantum features can appear due to underlying classical nonlinear dynamics. Here we observe signatures of quantum nonlinear dynamics through the direct measurement of the time-evolved Wigner function of the quantum-kicked harmonic oscillator, implemented in the spatial degrees of freedom of light. Our setup is decoherence-free and we can continuously tune the semiclassical and chaos parameters, so as to explore the transition from regular to essentially chaotic dynamics. Owing to its robustness and versatility, our scheme can be used to experimentally investigate a variety of nonlinear quantum phenomena. As an example, we couple this system to a quantum bit and experimentally investigate the decoherence produced by regular or chaotic dynamics.

Suggested Citation

  • Gabriela B. Lemos & Rafael M. Gomes & Stephen P. Walborn & Paulo H. Souto Ribeiro & Fabricio Toscano, 2012. "Experimental observation of quantum chaos in a beam of light," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 3(1), pages 1-7, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:3:y:2012:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms2214
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2214
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    Cited by:

    1. Chogle, Firoz & Varghese, Seba Sara & Ibrahim, Abdel-Baset M.A. & Prasad, Awadhesh & Eleuch, Hichem, 2024. "Chaos and regularities in cavity assisted two-channel nonlinear coupler," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 189(P1).

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