The initial momentum dependence of the quantum resonance in the delta-kicked rotor

Abstract

The influence of an initial momentum on the appearance of "quantum resonances" in the delta-kicked rotor system is explored experimentally. We show that for certain initial momenta, a resonance can be negated entirely, whereas at others a resonance can be made to appear. At a larger number of kicks, all resonances are shown to narrow. We show that as a consequence, the individual "diffraction peaks" may split. We compare our results to numerical simulations as well as analytical theory.