Quantum kicked harmonic oscillator in contact with a heat bath

TL;DR

This paper investigates how a quantum harmonic oscillator subjected to periodic kicks behaves when coupled to a heat bath, revealing insights into its thermodynamics and energy absorption in different dynamical regimes.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed analysis of the quantum kicked harmonic oscillator interacting with a heat bath, combining phase space techniques with simulations to explore non-integrable quantum chaos.

Findings

High-resolution Wigner functions at long times show quasi-stationary states.

The heat bath influences energy absorption and system dynamics across regimes.

Thermodynamic properties of quantum chaotic systems are characterized in contact with a heat bath.

Abstract

We consider the quantum harmonic oscillator in contact with a finite temperature bath, modelled by the Caldeira-Leggett master equation. Applying periodic kicks to the oscillator, we study the system in different dynamical regimes between classical integrability and chaos on the one hand, and ballistic or diffusive energy absorption on the other. We then investigate the influence of the heat bath on the oscillator in each case. Phase space techniques allow us to simulate the evolution of the system efficiently. In this way, we calculate high resolution Wigner functions at long times, where the system approaches a quasi-stationary cyclic evolution. Thereby, we are able to perform an accurate study of the thermodynamic properties of a non-integrable, quantum chaotic system in contact with a heat bath.