Characterizing the support of semiclassical measures for higher-dimensional cat maps

Abstract

Quantum cat maps are toy models in quantum chaos associated to hyperbolic symplectic matrices $A\in \operatorname{Sp}(2n,\mathbb{Z})$. The macroscopic limits of sequences of eigenfunctions of a quantum cat map are characterized by semiclassical measures on the torus $\mathbb{R}^{2n}/\mathbb{Z}^{2n}$. We show that if the characteristic polynomial of every power $A^k$ is irreducible over the rationals, then every semiclassical measure has full support. The proof uses an earlier strategy of Dyatlov-J\'ez\'equel [arXiv:2108.10463] and the higher-dimensional fractal uncertainty principle of Cohen [arXiv:2305.05022]. Our irreducibility condition is generically true, in fact we show that asymptotically for $100\%$ of matrices $A$, the Galois group of the characteristic polynomial of $A$ is $S_2 \wr S_n$. When the irreducibility condition does not hold, we show that a semiclassical measure cannot be supported on a finite union of parallel non-coisotropic subtori. On the other hand, we give examples of semiclassical measures supported on the union of two transversal symplectic subtori for $n=2$, inspired by the work of Faure-Nonnenmacher-De Bi\`evre [arXiv:nlin/0207060] in the case $n=1$. This is complementary to the examples by Kelmer [arXiv:math-ph/0510079] of semiclassical measures supported on a single coisotropic subtorus.