Signatures of quantum chaos in nodal points and streamlines in electron transport through billiards

Abstract

Streamlines and distributions of nodal points are used as signatures of chaos in coherent electron transport through three types of billiards, Sinai, Bunimovich and rectangular. Numerical averaged distribution functions of nearest distances between nodal points are presented. We find the same form for the Sinai and Bunimovich billiards and suggest that there is a universal form that can be used as a signature of quantum chaos for electron transport in open billiards. The universal distribution function is found to be insensitive to the way avaraging is performed (over positions of leads, over an energy interval with a few conductance fluctuations, or both). The integrable rectangular billiard, on the other hand, displays nonuniversal distribution with a central peak related to partial order of nodal points for the case of symmetric attachment of leads. However cases with nonsymmetric leads tend to the universal form. Also it is shown how nodal points in rectangular billiard can lead to "channeling of quantum flows" while disorder in nodal points in the Sinai billiard gives rise to unstable irregular behavior of the flow.