Within the random matrix theory approach to quantum scattering, we derive the distribution of the Wigner-Smith time delay matrix $\mathcal{Q}$ for a chaotic cavity with uniform absorption, coupled via $N$ perfect channels. In the unitary class $β=2$ we obtain a compact expression for the distribution of the full matrix in terms of a matrix integral. In the other symmetry classes we derive the joint distribution of the eigenvalues. We show how the large $N$ properties of this distribution can be analysed in terms of two interacting Coulomb gases living on two different supports. As an application of our results, we study the statistical properties of the Wigner time delay $τ_{\mathrm{W}} = \mathrm{tr}[\mathcal{Q}]/N$ in the presence of absorption.
We derive the joint distribution of the moments $\mathrm{Tr}\, Q^κ$ ($κ\geq0$) of the Wigner-Smith matrix for a chaotic cavity supporting a large number of scattering channels $n$. This distribution turns out to be asymptotically Gaussian, and we compute explicitly averages and covariances. The results are in a compact form and have been verified numerically. The general methodology of proof and computations has a wide range of applications.
We consider wave propagation in a complex structure coupled to a finite number $N$ of scattering channels, such as chaotic cavities or quantum dots with external leads. Temporal aspects of the scattering process are analysed through the concept of time delays, related to the energy (or frequency) derivative of the scattering matrix $\mathcal{S}$. We develop a random matrix approach to study the statistical properties of the symmetrised Wigner-Smith time-delay matrix $\mathcal{Q}_s=-\mathrm{i}\hbar\,\mathcal{S}^{-1/2}\big(\partial_\varepsilon\mathcal{S}\big)\,\mathcal{S}^{-1/2}$, and obtain the…
We study the Wigner-Smith time-delay matrix $Q$ of a ballistic quantum dot supporting $N$ scattering channels. We compute the $v$-point correlators of the power traces $\mathrm{Tr} Q^κ$ for arbitrary $v\geq1$ at leading order for large $N$ using techniques from the random matrix theory approach to quantum chromodynamics. We conjecture that the cumulants of the $\mathrm{Tr} Q^κ$'s are integer-valued at leading order in $N$ and include a MATHEMATICA code that computes their generating functions recursively.
The Wigner rotation is a key word in many branches of physics, chemistry and engineering sciences. It is a group theoretical effect resulting from two Lorentz boosts. The net effect is one boost followed or preceded by a rotation. This rotation can therefore be formulated as a product of three boosts. In relativistic kinematics, it is a rotation in the Lorentz frame where the particle is at rest. This rotation does not change its momentum, but it rotates the direction of the spin. The Wigner rotation is not confined to relativistic kinematics. It manifests itself in physical systems where the …
We consider a multichannel wire with a disordered region of length $L$ and a reflecting boundary. The reflection of a wave of frequency $ω$ is described by the scattering matrix $\mathcal{S}(ω)$, encoding the probability amplitudes to be scattered from one channel to another. The Wigner-Smith time delay matrix $\mathcal{Q}=-\mathrm{i}\, \mathcal{S}^\dagger\partial_ω\mathcal{S}$ is another important matrix encoding temporal aspects of the scattering process. In order to study its statistical properties, we split the scattering matrix in terms of two unitary matrices, $\mathcal{S}=\mathrm{e}^{2\…
It is not always possible to diagonalize the optical $ABCD$ matrix, but it can be brought into one of the four Wigner matrices by a similarity transformation. It is shown that the four Wigner matrices can be combined into one matrix with four branches. This result is illustrated in terms of optical activities, laser cavities, and multilayer optics.
Using the concept of minimal chaotic cavities, we give the distribution of the proper delay times of $Q=-i\hbar S^\dagger \frac{\partial S}{\partial E}$ at the spectrum edge with a scattering matrix $S$ belonging to circular ensembles CE. The three classes of symmetry ($β=1$, 2 and 4) will be analyzed to show how it differs from the distribution obtained in the bulk of the spectrum. In this new class of universality at the spectrum edge, more attention will be given to the Wigner time $τ_w=tr(Q)$ and its distribution will be given analytically in the case of 2 modes scattering. The results wil…
The Wigner time delay, defined by the energy derivative of the total scattering phase shift, is an important spectral measure of an open quantum system characterising the duration of the scattering event. It is related to the trace of the Wigner-Smith matrix Q that also encodes other time-delay characteristics. For chaotic cavities, these exhibit universal fluctuations that are commonly described within random matrix theory. Here, we develop a new semiclassical approach to the time-delay matrix which is formulated in terms of the classical trajectories that connect the exterior and interior re…
The beam transfer matrix, often called the $ABCD$ matrix, is a two-by-two matrix with unit determinant, and with three independent parameters. It is noted that this matrix cannot always be diagonalized. It can however be brought by rotation to a matrix with equal diagonal elements. This equi-diagonal matrix can then be squeeze-transformed to a rotation, to a squeeze, or to one of the two shear matrices. It is noted that these one-parameter matrices constitute the basic elements of the Wigner's little group for space-time symmetries of elementary particles. Thus every $ABCD$ matrix can be writt…
We develop a method to compute the moments of the eigenvalue densities of matrices in the Gaussian, Laguerre and Jacobi ensembles for all the symmetry classes beta = 1,2, 4 and finite matrix dimension n. The moments of the Jacobi ensembles have a physical interpretation as the moments of the transmission eigenvalues of an electron through a quantum dot with chaotic dynamics. For the Laguerre ensemble we also evaluate the finite n negative moments. Physically, they correspond to the moments of the proper delay times, which are the eigenvalues of the Wigner-Smith matrix. Our formulae are well su…
The Painlevé transcendents discovered at the turn of the XX century by pure mathematical reasoning, have later made their surprising appearance -- much in the way of Wigner's "miracle of appropriateness" -- in various problems of theoretical physics. The notable examples include the two-dimensional Ising model, one-dimensional impenetrable Bose gas, corner and polynuclear growth models, one dimensional directed polymers, string theory, two dimensional quantum gravity, and spectral distributions of random matrices. In the present contribution, ideas of integrability are utilized to advocate eme…
This is the first of two subsequent publications where the probability distribution of delay-times in scattering of wave packets is discussed. The probability distribution is expressed in terms of the on-shell scattering matrix, the dispersion relation of the scattered beam and the wave packet envelope. In the monochromatic limit (poor time resolution) the mean delay-time coincides with the expression derived by Eisenbud and Wigner and generalized by Smith more than half a century ago. In the opposite limit, and within the semi-classical approximation, the resulting distribution coincides with…
We develop a novel approach to the Anderson localisation problem in a $d$-dimensional disordered sample of dimension $L\times M^{d-1}$. Attaching a perfect lead with the cross-section $M^{d-1}$ to one side of the sample, we derive evolution equations for the scattering matrix and the Wigner-Smith time delay matrix as a function of $L$. Using them one obtains the Fokker-Planck equation for the distribution of the proper delay times and the evolution equation for their density at weak disorder. The latter can be mapped onto a non-linear partial differential equation of the Burgers type, for whic…
