Particle Trajectories for Quantum Maps

Abstract

We study the trajectories of a semiclassical quantum particle under repeated indirect measurement by Kraus operators, in the setting of the quantized torus. In between measurements, the system evolves via either Hamiltonian propagators or metaplectic operators. We show in both cases the convergence in total variation of the quantum trajectory to its corresponding classical trajectory, as defined by the propagation of a semiclassical defect measure. This convergence holds up to the Ehrenfest time of the classical system, which is larger when the system is “less chaotic.” In addition, we present numerical simulations of these effects. In proving this result, we provide a characterization of a type of semi-classical defect measure we call uniform defect measures. We also prove derivative estimates of a function composed with a flow on the torus.