Interplay between coherent and incoherent decay processes in chaotic systems: The role of quantum interference

The population decay due to a small opening in an otherwise closed cavity supporting chaotic classical dynamics displays a quantum correction on top of the classical exponential form, a pure manifestation of quantum coherence that acquires a universal form and can be explained by path interference. Being coherent, such enhancement is prone to decoherence effects due to the coupling of the system to an external environment. We study this interplay between incoherent and coherent quantum corrections to decay by evaluating, within a Caldeira-Leggett scenario, off-diagonal contributions to the decoherence functional coming from pairs of correlated classical paths in the time regime where dissipative effects are neglected and decoherence does not affect the classical dynamics, but quantum interference must be accounted for. We find that the competing effects of interference and decoherence lead to a universal nonmonotonic form for the survival probability depending only on the coupling strength and macroscopic parameters of the cavity.

Automated summary

The study investigates the interplay between quantum corrections to decay and decoherence effects, finding that the competing effects of interference and decoherence lead to a universal nonmonotonic form for the survival probability depending only on the coupling strength and macroscopic parameters of the cavity. This demonstrates the delicate balance between quantum coherence and decoherence in closed systems with chaotic classical dynamics, highlighting the importance of considering quantum interference in such systems.