Gauging classical and quantum integrability through out-of-time-ordered correlators.

Out-of-time-ordered correlators (OTOCs) have been proposed as a probe of chaos in quantum mechanics, on the basis of their short-time exponential growth found in some particular setups. However, it has been seen that this behavior is not universal. Therefore, we query other quantum chaos manifestations arising from the OTOCs, and we thus study their long-time behavior in systems of completely different nature: quantum maps, which are the simplest chaotic one-body system, and spin chains, which are many-body systems without a classical limit.

Chaos Signatures in the Short and Long Time Behavior of the Out-of-Time Ordered Correlator.

Two properties are needed for a classical system to be chaotic: exponential stretching and mixing. Recently, out-of-time order correlators were proposed as a measure of chaos in a wide range of physical systems. While most of the attention has previously been devoted to the short time stretching aspect of chaos, characterized by the Lyapunov exponent, we show for quantum maps that the out-of-time correlator approaches its stationary value exponentially with a rate determined by the Ruelle-Pollicot resonances.

Correlation between peak-height modulation and phase lapses in transport through quantum dots.

We show that two intriguing features of mesoscopic transport, namely, the modulation of Coulomb blockade peak heights and the transmission phase lapses occurring between subsequent peaks, are closely related. Our analytic arguments are corroborated by numerical simulations for chaotic ballistic quantum dots. The correlations between the two properties are experimentally testable.

Loschmidt echo and time reversal in complex systems.

Echoes are ubiquitous phenomena in several branches of physics, ranging from acoustics, optics, condensed matter and cold atoms to geophysics. They are at the base of a number of very useful experimental techniques, such as nuclear magnetic resonance, photon echo and time-reversal mirrors. Particularly interesting physical effects are obtained when the echo studies are performed on complex systems, either classically chaotic, disordered or many-body.

Transmission phase of a quantum dot and statistical fluctuations of partial-width amplitudes.

Experimentally, the phase of the amplitude for electron transmission through a quantum dot (transmission phase) shows the same pattern between consecutive resonances. Such universal behavior, found for long sequences of resonances, is caused by correlations of the signs of the partial-width amplitudes of the resonances. We investigate the stability of these correlations in terms of a statistical model.