No Arabic abstract
We numerically investigate the dynamics of an one-dimensional disordered lattice using the Hertzian model, describing a granular chain, and the $alpha+beta $ Fermi-Pasta-Ulam-Tsingou model (FPUT). The most profound difference between the two systems is the discontinuous nonlinearity of the granular chain appearing whenever neighboring particles are detached. We therefore sought to unravel the role of these discontinuities in the destruction of Anderson localization and their influence on the systems chaotic dynamics. Our results show that both models exhibit an energy range where localization coexists with chaos. However, the discontinuous nonlinearity is found to be capable of triggering energy spreading of initially localized modes, at lower energies than the FPUT model. A transition from Anderson localization to chaotic dynamics and energy equipartition is found for the granular chain and is associated with thepropagation of the discontinuous nonlinearity in the chain. On the contrary, the FPUT chain exhibits an alternate behavior between localized and delocalized chaotic behavior which is strongly dependent on the initial energy of excitation.
We probe the limits of nonlinear wave spreading in disordered chains which are known to localize linear waves. We particularly extend recent studies on the regimes of strong and weak chaos during subdiffusive spreading of wave packets [EPL {bf 91}, 30001 (2010)] and consider strong disorder, which favors Anderson localization. We probe the limit of infinite disorder strength and study Frohlich-Spencer-Wayne models. We find that the assumption of chaotic wave packet dynamics and its impact on spreading is in accord with all studied cases. Spreading appears to be asymptotic, without any observable slowing down. We also consider chains with spatially inhomogeneous nonlinearity which give further support to our findings and conclusions.
Anderson localisation is an important phenomenon arising in many areas of physics, and here we explore it in the context of quantum information devices. Finite dimensional spin chains have been demonstrated to be important devices for quantum information transport, and in particular can be engineered to allow for perfect state transfer (PST). Here we present extensive investigations of disordered PST spin chains, demonstrating spatial localisation and transport retardation effects, and relate these effects to conventional Anderson localisation. We provide thresholds for Anderson localisation in these finite quantum information systems for both the spatial and the transport domains. Finally, we consider the effect of disorder on the eigenstate and energy spectrum of our Hamiltonian, where results support our conclusions on the presence of Anderson localisation.
We study the chaotic behavior of multidimensional Hamiltonian systems in the presence of nonlinearity and disorder. It is known that any localized initial excitation in a large enough linear disordered system spreads for a finite amount of time and then halts forever. This phenomenon is called Anderson localization (AL). What happens to AL when nonlinearity is introduced is an interesting question which has been considered in several studies over the past decades. However, the characteristics and the asymptotic fate of such evolutions still remain an issue of intense debate due to their computational difficulty, especially in systems of more than one spatial dimension. As the spreading of initially localized wave packets is a non-equilibrium thermalization process related to the ergodic and chaotic properties of the system, in our work we investigate the properties of chaos studying the behavior of observables related to the systems tangent dynamics. In particular, we consider the disordered discrete nonlinear Schrodinger (DDNLS) equation of one (1D) and two (2D) spatial dimensions. We present detailed computations of the time evolution of the systems maximum Lyapunov exponent (MLE--$Lambda$), and the related deviation vector distribution (DVD). We find that although the systems MLE decreases in time following a power law $t^{alpha_Lambda}$ with $alpha_Lambda <0$ for both the weak and strong chaos regimes, no crossover to the behavior $Lambda propto t^{-1}$ (which is indicative of regular motion) is observed. In addition, the analysis of the DVDs reveals the existence of random fluctuations of chaotic hotspots with increasing amplitudes inside the excited part of the wave packet, which assist in homogenizing chaos and contribute to the thermalization of more lattice sites.
The relation between the onset of chaos and critical phenomena, like Quantum Phase Transitions (QPT) and Excited-State Quantum Phase transitions (ESQPT), is analyzed for atom-field systems. While it has been speculated that the onset of hard chaos is associated with ESQPT based in the resonant case, the off-resonant cases show clearly that both phenomena, ESQPT and chaos, respond to different mechanisms. The results are supported in a detailed numerical study of the dynamics of the semiclassical Hamiltonian of the Dicke model. The appearance of chaos is quantified calculating the largest Lyapunov exponent for a wide sample of initial conditions in the whole available phase space for a given energy. The percentage of the available phase space with chaotic trajectories is evaluated as a function of energy and coupling between the qubit and bosonic part, allowing to obtain maps in the space of coupling and energy, where ergodic properties are observed in the model. Different sets of Hamiltonian parameters are considered, including resonant and off-resonant cases.
Do nonlinear waves destroy Anderson localization? Computational and experimental studies yield subdiffusive nonequilibrium wave packet spreading. Chaotic dynamics and phase decoherence assumptions are used for explaining the data. We perform a quantitative analysis of the nonequilibrium chaos assumption, and compute the time dependence of main chaos indicators - Lyapunov exponents and deviation vector distributions. We find a slowing down of chaotic dynamics, which does not cross over into regular dynamics up to the largest observed time scales, still being fast enough to allow for a thermalization of the spreading wave packet. Strongly localized chaotic spots meander through the system as time evolves. Our findings confirm for the first time that nonequilibrium chaos and phase decoherence persist, fueling the prediction of a complete delocalization.