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Using the parametrically driven harmonic oscillator as a working example, we study two different Markovian approaches to the quantum dynamics of a periodically driven system with dissipation. In the simpler approach, the driving enters the master equation for the reduced density operator only in the Hamiltonian term. An improved master equation is achieved by treating the entire driven system within the Floquet formalism and coupling it to the reservoir as a whole. The different ensuing evolution equations are compared in various representations, particularly as Fokker-Planck equations for the Wigner function. On all levels of approximation, these evolution equations retain the periodicity of the driving, so that their solutions have Floquet form and represent eigenfunctions of a non-unitary propagator over a single period of the driving. We discuss asymptotic states in the long-time limit as well as the conservative and the high-temperature limits. Numerical results obtained within the different Markov approximations are compared with the exact path-integral solution. The application of the improved Floquet-Markov scheme becomes increasingly important when considering stronger driving and lower temperatures. 42.50.Lc, 03.65.Sq Typeset using REVT E X † Present address:

We explain the mechanism leading to directed chaotic transport in Hamiltonian systems with spatial and temporal periodicity. We show that a mixed phase space comprising both regular and chaotic motion is required and we derive a classical sum rule which allows one to predict the chaotic transport velocity from properties of regular phase-space components. Transport in quantum Hamiltonian ratchets arises by the same mechanism as long as uncertainty allows one to resolve the classical phase-space structure. We derive a quantum sum rule analogous to the classical one, based on the relation between quantum transport and band structure.

We present a comprehensive account of directed transport in one-dimensional Hamiltonian systems with spatial and temporal periodicity. They can be considered as Hamiltonian ratchets in the sense that ensembles of particles can show directed ballistic transport in the absence of an average force. We discuss general conditions for such directed transport, like a mixed classical phase space, and elucidate a sum rule that relates the contributions of different phase-space components to transport with each other. We show that regular ratchet transport can be directed against an external potential gradient while chaotic ballistic transport is restricted to unbiased systems. For quantized Hamiltonian ratchets we study transport in terms of the evolution of wave packets and derive a semiclassical expression for the distribution of level velocities which encode the quantum transport in the Floquet band spectra. We discuss the role of dynamical tunneling between transporting islands and the chaotic sea and the breakdown of transport in quantum ratchets with broken spatial periodicity.

In the spectrum of systems showing chaos-assisted tunneling, three-state crossings are formed when a chaotic singlet intersects a tunnel doublet. We study the dissipative quantum dynamics in the vicinity of such crossings. A harmonically driven double well coupled to a bath serves as a model. Markov and rotating-wave approximations are introduced with respect to the Floquet spectrum of the time-dependent central system. The resulting master equation is integrated numerically. We find various types of transient tunneling, determined by the relation of the level width to the inherent energy scales of the crossing. The decay of coherent tunneling can be significantly retarded or accelerated. Modifications of the quantum asymptotic state by the crossing are also studied. The comparison with a simple three-state model shows that in contrast to the undamped case, the participation of states outside the crossing cannot be neglected in the presence of dissipation. 42.50.Lc, 03.65.Sq Typeset using REVT E X

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Propagation of the Wigner function is studied on two levels of semiclassical propagation: one based on the Van Vleck propagator, the other on phase-space path integration. Leading quantum corrections to the classical Liouville propagator take the form of a time-dependent quantum spot. Its oscillatory structure depends on whether the underlying classical flow is elliptic or hyperbolic. It can be interpreted as the result of interference of a pair of classical trajectories, indicating how quantum coherences are to be propagated semiclassically in phase space. The phase-space path-integral approach allows for a finer resolution of the quantum spot in terms of Airy functions.

We study the interplay between coherent transport by tunneling and diffusive transport through classically chaotic phase-space regions, as it is reflected in the Floquet spectrum of the periodically driven quartic double well. The tunnel splittings in the semiclassical regime are determined with high numerical accuracy, and the association of the corresponding doublet states to either chaotic or regular regions of the classical phase space is quantified in terms of the overlap of the Husimi distribution with the chaotic layer along the separatrix. We find a strong correlation between both quantities. They show an increase by orders of magnitude as chaotic diffusion between the wells starts to dominate the classical dynamics. We discuss semiclassical explanations for this correlation. 05.45.+b, 03.65.Sq, 73.40.Gk