Quantum vs classical dynamics in a spin-boson system: manifestations of spectral correlations and scarring

Abstract

We compare the entire classical and quantum evolutions of the Dicke model in its regular and chaotic domains. This is a paradigmatic interacting spin-boson model of great experimental interest. By studying the classical and quantum survival probabilities of initial coherent states, we identify features of the long-time dynamics that are purely quantum and discuss their impact on the equilibration times. We show that the ratio between the quantum and classical asymptotic values of the survival probability serves as a metric to determine the proximity to a separatrix in the regular regime and to distinguish between two manifestations of quantum chaos: scarring and ergodicity. In the case of maximal quantum ergodicity, our results are analytical and show that quantum equilibration takes longer than classical equilibration.