How complex is the quantum motion?

Giuliano Benenti, Giulio Casati

Published 2008-08-24, updated 2008-11-23Version 2

In classical mechanics the complexity of a dynamical system is characterized by the rate of local exponential instability which effaces the memory of initial conditions and leads to practical irreversibility. In striking contrast, quantum mechanics appears to exhibit strong memory of the initial state. Here we introduce a notion of complexity for a quantum system and relate it to its stability and reversibility properties.