From quantum trajectories to classical orbits

Abstract

Recently it has been shown that the evolution of open quantum systems may be ``unraveled'' into individual ``trajectories,'' providing powerful numerical and conceptual tools. In this letter we use quantum trajectories to study mesoscopic systems and their classical limit. We show that in this limit, Quantum Jump (QJ) trajectories approach a diffusive limit very similar to the Quantum State Diffusion (QSD) unraveling. The latter follows classical trajectories in the classical limit. Hence, both unravelings show the rise of classical orbits. This is true for both regular and chaotic systems (which exhibit strange attractors).