Quantum suppression of chaotic tunneling

Abstract

The interplay between chaotic tunneling and dynamical localization in mixed phase space is investigated. Semiclassical analysis using complex classical orbits reveals that tunneling through torus regions and transport in chaotic regions are not independent processes, rather they are strongly correlated and described by complex orbits with both properties. This predicts a phenomenon analogous to the quantum suppression of classical diffusion: chaotic tunneling is suppressed as a result of dynamical localization in chaotic regions. This hypothesis is confirmed by numerical experiments where the effect of destructive interference is attenuated.