Relaxation Time of Quantized Toral Maps

Abstract

We introduce the notion of the relaxation time for noisy quantum maps on the 2d-dimensional torus - a generalization of previously studied dissipation time. We show that relaxation time is sensitive to the chaotic behavior of the corresponding classical system if one simultaneously considers the semiclassical limit ($\hbar$ -> 0) together with the limit of small noise strength ($\ep$ -> 0). Focusing on quantized smooth Anosov maps, we exhibit a semiclassical regime $\hbar<\ep^{E}$ << 1 (where E>1) in which classical and quantum relaxation times share the same asymptotics: in this regime, a quantized Anosov map relaxes to equilibrium fast, as the classical map does. As an intermediate result, we obtain rigorous estimates of the quantum-classical correspondence for noisy maps on the torus, up to times logarithmic in $\hbar^{-1}$. On the other hand, we show that in the ``quantum regime'' $\ep$ << $\hbar$ << 1, quantum and classical relaxation times behave very differently. In the special case of ergodic toral symplectomorphisms (generalized ``Arnold's cat'' maps), we obtain the exact asymptotics of the quantum relaxation time and precise the regime of correspondence between quantum and classical relaxations.