Semiquantum chaos in the double well

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Abstract
The phenomenon of semiquantum chaos is analyzed in a classically regular double-well oscillator model. Here it arises from a doubling of the number of effectively classical degrees of freedom, which are nonlinearly coupled in a Gaussian variational approximation (TDHF) to full quantum mechanics. The resulting first-order nondissipative autonomous flow system shows energy dependent transitions between regular behavior and semiquantum chaos, which we monitor by Poincaré sections and a suitable frequency correlation function related to the density matrix. We discuss the general importance of this form of deterministic chaos and point out the necessity to study open (dissipative) quantum systems, in order to observe it experimentally. © 1996 The American Physical Society.