Abstract
We report a direct observation of dynamical localization. This effect is a quantum suppression of diffusion in a system that is classically chaotic. Our experiment measures the momentum transferred from a modulated standing wave of a near-resonant laser to a sample of ultracold atoms and is a realization of a periodically driven rotor. The conceptual simplicity and experimental control over the time dependent Hamiltonian make this system an ideal testing ground for the predictions of quantum chaos.
- Received 26 May 1994
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.73.2974
©1994 American Physical Society
