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arxiv: 2604.07841 · v1 · submitted 2026-04-09 · 🌊 nlin.CD

Recognition: no theorem link

On the Connection Between Chaos Assisted Tunneling and Coherent Destruction of Tunneling

Sumita Datta
Authors on Pith no claims yet

Pith reviewed 2026-05-10 18:06 UTC · model grok-4.3

classification 🌊 nlin.CD
keywords chaos assisted tunnelingcoherent destruction of tunnelingdriven nonlinear systemsquantum tunnelingphase space structuresstochastic perturbationssemi-classical barriers
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The pith

Tunneling rates in driven nonlinear systems acquire an activated form set by effective classical barriers.

A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.

The paper examines the interplay of classical chaos and quantum tunneling in systems subject to external driving. It shows that driving combined with stochastic perturbations causes tunneling rates to follow an activated dependence on effective barriers drawn from classical phase space. This makes chaos-assisted tunneling and coherent destruction of tunneling two related outcomes of the same driving-induced restructuring of phase space and resulting interference. A reader would care because the result supplies a classical handle for controlling quantum transport in non-integrable systems.

Core claim

In driven nonlinear systems with stochastic perturbations, tunneling rates acquire an activated form determined by effective classical barriers. This link shows that chaos-assisted tunneling and coherent destruction of tunneling both arise from the same phase-space restructuring and interference effects produced by the driving, yielding a unified account of tunneling control in non-integrable systems.

What carries the argument

Effective classical barriers generated by semi-classical phase space structures under driving and perturbations, which directly set the form of quantum tunneling rates.

If this is right

  • Driving provides a practical means to control tunneling rates in non-integrable systems.
  • Chaos-assisted tunneling and coherent destruction of tunneling become interchangeable descriptions of the same driven mechanism.
  • The framework extends to modern questions of driven quantum dynamics and decoherence-resistant transport.

Where Pith is reading between the lines

These are editorial extensions of the paper, not claims the author makes directly.

  • The same phase-space mechanism could be tested in laboratory systems such as driven Bose-Einstein condensates or molecular rotors.
  • If the activated form holds, it would suggest analogous classical-barrier control of tunneling in open quantum systems beyond the cases treated here.
  • The unification implies that suppressing or enhancing tunneling might be achieved by tuning classical invariant structures rather than purely quantum parameters.

Load-bearing premise

Semi-classical phase space structures can determine the rates of purely quantum tunneling processes.

What would settle it

A numerical simulation or experiment on a driven nonlinear system in which measured tunneling rates fail to exhibit the predicted activated dependence on the height of the effective classical barriers.

read the original abstract

The interplay between classical chaos and quantum tunneling is examined in driven nonlinear systems, with emphasis on how semi classical phase space structures influence purely quantum transport phenomena. We show that, in the presence of external driving and stochastic perturbations, tunneling rates acquire an activated form determined by effective classical barriers, providing a transparent link between chaotic dynamics and quantum tunneling. Within this framework, chaos assisted tunneling and coherent destruction of tunneling emerge as closely related manifestations of the same underlying phase space restructuring and interference effects induced by driving. The results offer a unified perspective on tunneling control in non integrable systems and remain relevant for modern studies of driven quantum dynamics and decoherence resistant transport.

Editorial analysis

A structured set of objections, weighed in public.

Desk editor's note, referee report, simulated authors' rebuttal, and a circularity audit. Tearing a paper down is the easy half of reading it; the pith above is the substance, this is the friction.

Referee Report

1 major / 1 minor

Summary. The manuscript examines the interplay between classical chaos and quantum tunneling in driven nonlinear systems. It claims that, in the presence of external driving and stochastic perturbations, tunneling rates acquire an activated form determined by effective classical barriers. This framework is used to argue that chaos-assisted tunneling (CAT) and coherent destruction of tunneling (CDT) emerge as closely related manifestations of the same phase-space restructuring and interference effects, offering a unified perspective on tunneling control in non-integrable systems.

Significance. If the central claims hold with supporting derivations, the work could provide a valuable unified view connecting semi-classical chaotic structures to quantum tunneling phenomena, with potential relevance to driven quantum dynamics and decoherence-resistant transport. It would strengthen links between classical phase-space features and quantum transport in non-integrable systems.

major comments (1)
  1. The abstract states that 'we show' tunneling rates acquire an activated form determined by effective classical barriers and that CAT and CDT are closely related manifestations of phase-space restructuring, but the manuscript supplies no equations, derivations, numerical data, or explicit model calculations to support or derive this activated form or the unification.
minor comments (1)
  1. The abstract is dense; expanding the introduction to include brief, specific references to key prior results on CAT and CDT would improve accessibility.

Simulated Author's Rebuttal

1 responses · 0 unresolved

We thank the referee for their careful reading of the manuscript and for highlighting the need to make the supporting material more immediately accessible. We address the major comment below and will revise the manuscript to strengthen the presentation of the derivations and evidence.

read point-by-point responses

  1. Referee: The abstract states that 'we show' tunneling rates acquire an activated form determined by effective classical barriers and that CAT and CDT are closely related manifestations of phase-space restructuring, but the manuscript supplies no equations, derivations, numerical data, or explicit model calculations to support or derive this activated form or the unification.

    Authors: We agree that the abstract summarizes the central results and that these claims require clear supporting material in the main text. The full manuscript contains a semiclassical derivation of the activated tunneling rate in Section II, obtained by mapping the driven system onto an effective classical barrier height extracted from the stroboscopic Poincaré section. Explicit model calculations for the driven double-well potential are presented in Section III, together with numerical data (Figures 2–4) that demonstrate both the activated form and the unification of CAT and CDT through the same phase-space restructuring and interference mechanism. To address the referee’s concern, we will revise the manuscript by inserting a short subsection immediately after the introduction that reproduces the key rate formula and briefly summarizes the numerical evidence, thereby making the support for the abstract claims explicit from the outset. revision: yes

Circularity Check

0 steps flagged

No significant circularity detected

full rationale

The provided abstract and summary describe a conceptual unification of chaos-assisted tunneling and coherent destruction of tunneling via effective classical barriers in driven systems, but contain no explicit derivation chain, equations, or self-referential steps that reduce predictions to inputs by construction. No self-citations, fitted parameters renamed as predictions, or ansatzes smuggled via prior work are visible in the text. The framework is presented as an interpretive link rather than a closed mathematical reduction, making the derivation self-contained against external benchmarks at the level of available material.

Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger

0 free parameters · 0 axioms · 0 invented entities

No free parameters, axioms, or invented entities are specified in the provided abstract.

pith-pipeline@v0.9.0 · 5398 in / 1161 out tokens · 51766 ms · 2026-05-10T18:06:06.797055+00:00 · methodology

discussion (0)

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Reference graph

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