$1/f^α$ Noise in Spectral Fluctuations of Quantum Systems

Abstract

The power law $1/f^α$ in the power spectrum characterizes the fluctuating observables of many complex natural systems. Considering the energy levels of a quantum system as a discrete time series where the energy plays the role of time, the level fluctuations can be characterized by the power spectrum. Using a family of quantum billiards, we analyze the order to chaos transition in terms of this power spectrum. A power law $1/f^α$ is found at all the transition stages, and it is shown that the exponent $α$ is related to the chaotic component of the classical phase space of the quantum system.

4 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Lett