Scarred eigenstates for quantum cat maps of minimal periods

In this paper we construct a sequence of eigenfunctions of the quantum Arnold's cat map that, in the semiclassical limit, shows a strong scarring phenomenon on the periodic orbits of the dynamics. More precisely, those states have a semiclassical limit measure that is the sum of 1/2 the normalized Lebesgue measure on the torus plus 1/2 the normalized Dirac measure concentrated on any a priori given periodic orbit of the dynamics. It is known (the Schnirelman theorem) that most sequences of eigenfunctions equidistribute on the torus. The sequences we construct therefore provide an example of an exception to this general rule. Our method of construction and proof exploits the existence of special values of h, for which the quantum period of the map is relatively short, and a sharp control on the evolution of coherent states up to this time scale. We also provide a pointwise description of these states in phase space, which uncovers their hyperbolic structure in the vicinity of the fixed points and yields more precise localization estimates.