Ehrenfest times for classically chaotic systems
Loading...
Date
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Description
We describe the quantum mechanical spreading of a Gaussian wave packet by means of the semiclassical WKB approximation of Berry and Balazs. We find that the time scale $τ$ on which this approximation breaks down in a chaotic system is larger than the Ehrenfest times considered previously. In one dimension $τ=\fr{7}{6}λ^{-1}\ln(A/\hbar)$, with $λ$ the Lyapunov exponent and $A$ a typical classical action.
4 pages
4 pages