Entanglement Dynamics in a Chaotic System
by
Shohini Ghose
Quantum Information Science Group, University of Calgary
Coauthors: Xiaoguang Wang (Macquarie University), Ivan Deutsch (University of New Mexico), Barry Sanders (University of Calgary)

We analyze quantum signatures of chaos in the entanglement dynamics of cold atoms trapped in a magneto-optical lattice. The system has two coupled degrees of freedom (atomic position and spin), allowing the dynamics of entanglement to be studied both theoretically and experimentally. The entanglement between spin and motional degrees of freedom exhibits quasi-periodic behavior for states localized in a regular region of phase space. For states localized in a chaotic region, the growth of entanglement is faster and no quasi-periodic behavior is evident. We explain the main features of the entanglement dynamics by examining the support of the initial state on the system eigenstates. Our analysis is general and applicable to other quantum chaotic systems with unitary evolution.

Date received: March 5, 2004