Correlations in the Adiabatic Response of Chaotic Systems

Abstract

Adiabatic variation of the parameters of a chaotic system results in a fluctuating reaction force. In the leading order in the adiabaticity parameter, a dissipative force, that is present in classical mechanics was found to vanish in quantum mechanics. On the time scale t, this force is proportional to I(t), the integral of the force-force correlation function over time t. In order to understand the crossover between the classical and the quantum mechanical behavior we calculated I(t) in random matrix theory. We found that for systems belonging to the Gaussian unitary ensemble this crossover takes place at a characteristic time (proportional to the Heisenberg time) and for longer times I(t) practically vanishes, resulting in vanishing dissipation. For systems belonging to the Gaussian orthogonal ensemble I(t) drops like 1/t and there is no such characteristic time. I(t) is calculated for various models and the relation to experiment is discussed.