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Boltzmann-Loschmidt dispute reloaded quantum 150 years later

Statistical Mechanics 2026-05-29 v1 Quantum Gases Chaotic Dynamics Quantum Physics

Abstract

The Boltzmann-Loschmidt dispute of 1876 questioned the possibility of a statistical irreversible description by time reversible classical equations of motion of atoms. Here we show analytically and numerically that the quantum chaos diffusion of cold atoms, or ions, in a harmonic trap and pulsed optical lattice can be inverted back in time with up to 100\% efficiency. This is in sharp contrast to classical evolution where exponentially small errors break time reversibility. We argue that the existing experimental skills allow highlighting the Boltzmann-Loschmidt dispute from a quantum perspective.

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Cite

@article{arxiv.2604.04879,
  title  = {Boltzmann-Loschmidt dispute reloaded quantum 150 years later},
  author = {Leonardo Ermann and Alexei D. Chepelianskii and Dima L. Shepelyansky},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2604.04879},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

7 pages, 7 figures