# Vibrating soap films: An analog for quantum chaos on billiards

## I INTRODUCTION

In recent years, there has been increasing interest in the properties of quantum systems whose classical analogs are chaotic. Part of the work in this new field, called quantum chaos, refers to essentially two-dimensional cavities or wells of infinite potential called billiards. These billiards can take different forms, such as rectangles, circles and other more complicated geometries (see Fig. 1). The circle and the rectangle correspond to integrable systems. Furthermore, we include in Fig. 1 the so–called Bunimovich stadium and the Sinaï billiard which are completely chaotic. However, intermediate situations, i.e., systems with both integrable and chaotic behaviors, are the most common type of dynamical systems.

The quantum analog of a classical billiard is called a quantum billiard and its eigenfunctions are closely related to the classical features of the billiard. Quantum billiards obey the Helmholtz equation with vanishing amplitude on the border (homogeneous Dirichlet boundary conditions). Such systems can be simulated as a drum or any other membrane vibrating in a frame. The principal purpose of this paper is to show that the quantum behavior of classically chaotic and integrable billiards can be modeled in a classroom with an analog experiment. The experimental setup basically contains a function generator and a mechanical vibrator and is based on the vibrations of a soap film. Thus, as Feynman said in 1963, “the same equations have the same solutions”.

In the next section we briefly discuss classical and quantum billiards. In Sec. III we introduce our experimental setup and show the analogy with the quantum billiard. Other uses of our experimental setup are discussed in the same section. Some remarks are given in the conclusion.

## II CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM BILLIARDS

In order to make a more explicit definition of the classical billiard we take a two-dimensional region denoted by $`R`$ and define the potential $`V`$ for the particle as

$$V=\{\begin{array}{cc}0& \mathrm{in}R\\ \mathrm{}& \mathrm{otherwise}.\end{array}$$
(1)   
This means that inside $`R`$ the particle is free and moves in straight lines. When the particle collides with the boundary, it bounces following the law of reflection. Under this dynamics, the rectangle and circle billiards are regular. Typical trajectories inside are shown in Fig. 2. On the other hand, the dynamics of a particle in the stadium as well as in the Sinaï billiard, are chaotic. Almost all trajectories for these billiards are ergodic and exponentially divergent. Roughly speaking, this is so because in the Sinaï billiard, two very close trajectories are separated when one collides (or both) with the central circle. After some time, the separation between the trajectories (in phase space) is exponential. In the stadium two particles with very close initial conditions are focused when they collide with one semicircle. After this focusing, they began to separate until they bounce again but now on the other semicircle. The exponential divergence appears because the separation time is greater than the focusing time. Apart from these trajectories there also exist periodic orbits. These trajectories are unstable and typically isolated. Their number increases exponentially as function of their length, but they are of measure zero in phase space. We may find also families of unstable and non-isolated periodic orbits such as the “bouncing-ball” orbits in which the particle bounces between the two parallel segments of stadium. Some periodic orbits for the Bunimovich stadium are shown in Fig. 3.

The time independent Schrödinger equation for the potential defined in Eq. (1) is

$$\begin{array}{c}\hfill ^2\mathrm{\Psi }+k^2\mathrm{\Psi }=0\\ \hfill \mathrm{\Psi }=0\end{array}\begin{array}{cc}\mathrm{in}& R,\\ \mathrm{on}\mathrm{the}\mathrm{boundary}\mathrm{of}& R,\end{array}$$
(2)   
with the wave number $`k=(2mE/\mathrm{})^{1/2}`$. Here, $`E`$ and $`m`$ are the energy and mass of the particle and $`\mathrm{}`$ is the Planck constant. The homogeneous Dirichlet boundary condition is obtained because if $`V=\mathrm{}`$ the wave function vanishes. The Helmholtz equation in $`R`$ and the Dirichlet boundary condition define the quantum billiard. Note that this is just the equation for the normal modes of a membrane if we interpret the functions as vibration amplitudes.

For classically integrable billiards, the eigenfunctions are well-known. For example the solutions for circular and rectangular billiards are Bessel functions and sinusoidal functions, respectively. On the other hand, the features of wave functions for classically chaotic billiards have been well studied numerically by Heller. Recently, experiments in microwave cavities have been performed. In Fig. 4 we show eigenfunctions of the Bunimovich stadium we calculated numerically using the finite element method. However they can alternatively be calculated by standard software. The eigenfunctions of figures 4(a)-(c) show certain similarities with the orbits of Fig. 3. Following Heller, we say that the eigenfunctions are “scarred” by the orbits. Fig. 4(d) shows what is called a “whispering gallery” state, because there exist certain galleries in which the sound travels inside them, following the border. This kind of state is associated with orbits also close to the boundary. The eigenfunction shown on Fig. 4(e) resembles noise when we see only a quarter of stadium.

The appearance of the scars is quite well understood based on the theoretical work by Selberg, Gutzwiller and Balian. Due to the low density of the short periodic orbits they may well be seen in quantum experiments and simulations either as dominant features in the Fourier spectrum or as scars. While the Fourier analysis of experimental data in atomic and molecular physics is quite striking, direct demonstrations of scars are difficult even in microwave cavities. A simple explanation of scarring is based on de Broglie waves. Close to the periodic orbit there exist standing de Broglie waves whose wavelength $`\lambda `$ is associated to the length $`L`$ of the periodic orbit:

$$2L=n\lambda ,n=1,2,3,\mathrm{}.$$
(3)   
These de Broglie waves are localized around periodic orbits due to the exponential divergence of nearing trajectories. In the next section we will show how a simple demonstration setup can display the most interesting features of the eigenfunctions on a soap film.

## III Soap Film Analogy

The normal modes of a rectangular and circular soap film have been well studied. A textbook showing these eigenfunctions is French’s book entitled Vibrations and Waves. The governing equation is the time independent wave equation (Eq.2), but now with a different interpretation: $`\mathrm{\Psi }`$ is the membrane vibration amplitude and the wave number is now $`k=\omega /v`$, with $`\omega `$ the angular frequency and $`v`$ the speed of the transverse waves on the membrane.

A problem arises for the experimental setup of this analog: At high frequencies (corresponding to the semiclassical limit), the damping is large. To solve this problem we feed energy into the system permanently with an external resonator of a well-defined but variable frequency. We chose to feed the external frequency into the system by vibrating the wire that delimits our soap film. We use a mechanical vibrator (PASCO Scientific model SF-9324, see Fig. 5) connected to a function generator (we used a generator Wavetek model 180) and used wires with different shapes (rectangle, circle, Bunimovich stadium, Sinaï billiard, and some other of interest) Alternatively a speaker could be used to transmit the frequency through the air. The chemical formula for a soap film with large duration is given by Walker, but can be made up with soap, water and glycerin by trial and error.

We can now start the demonstration. In Fig. 6(a) we show a normal mode of the rectangle, in agreement with the known result. The Fig. 6(b) shows a normal mode for a circle displaying a Bessel function. Roughly speaking, the shining and dark zones establish a periodic pattern associated to the normal mode. Although the pattern established cannot give a quantitative measure of the amplitude, it is sufficient to give an idea of the form of the normal mode and to identify it. However, the more interesting normal modes are some of the classically chaotic billiards. In Fig. 6(c) we show a “bouncing–ball” state at low energies for a Bunimovich stadium. The alternating dark and shining zones in this and in the following figures make evident the presence of standing waves in the membrane. These waves are associated to de Broglie waves in the quantum billiard and at the same time they are associated with periodic orbits in the classical billiard. In Figs. 6(d) and (e) scarred eigenfunctions are displayed, the latter in the high-frequency regime. In order to show that they are scars and not some spurious effect of our very simple experimental setup, we calculate numerically the normal modes at frequencies near the experimental ones. We observe in Fig. 4 some of these eigenfunctions and the corresponding orbits in Fig. 3.

We want to mention that the normal modes in soap films can also be used for other two-dimensional wave phenomena, such as the search of normal modes of the clay layer corresponding to the old Tenochtitlan lake, which plays a crucial role in the earthquake damage patterns of Mexico City. The application in this case comes from the fact that the upper clay layer of the Mexico Valley, as well as the soap films, are practically two-dimensional. A wire may readily be shaped to the corresponding boundary and the results are shown in Fig. 6(f).

Moreover, the experimental setup which we present may be used to show other related wave phenomena. Typical examples are scars on liquids, Faraday waves –crystallographic patterns in large-amplitude waves–, cuasi-crystalline patterns on liquids, sand dynamics or normal modes of Chladni’s plates. These can be done by replacing the wire in our experimental setup with water containers or by thin plates. If we want to see scars on surface waves, we must put a stadium-shaped tank filled by water. Faraday waves can be obtained adding shampoo to the water and increasing the amplitude and frequency but decreasing the level of the liquid up to several millimeters. It is not necessary to use tanks with different shapes because the patterns do not depend on the boundary. If we want to observe quasi-crystalline patterns with this experimental setup, we must excite the mechanical vibrator with– at least –two frequencies. This is easily obtained by changing the sinusoidal time–dependence of the of the driving force to a triangular one. Another application is the demonstration of the modes of thin plates. In this case, as well as in the water tanks, the whispering gallery states are easily visible. We may use ellipses, pentagons or any other shape. All these plates are excited in a point in which the mechanical vibrator loads them. Figure 7(a) shows a whispering gallery state for a stadium-shaped iron plate. Fig. 7(b) shows a scarred pattern for the same plate. Finally, if we consider a tank with a layer of sand of variable thickness, we may study several topics on dynamics of granular media. As an example we can study “standing waves” on sand.

## IV Conclusions

The analog model of soap films for the quantum billiard gives a demonstration of quantum chaos features. For integrable regions the normal modes correspond to the eigenfunctions of two-dimensional square box and circle. For classically chaotic billiards the normal modes correspond to scarred eigenfunctions in the semiclassical limit. The experimental setup presented here is particularly cheap, simple and elegant– i.e. the alternative experiments do not satisfy the Helmholtz equation and/or boundary condition. Microwave cavities are expensive and do not display the scars in a directly visible manner–. Thus the simplicity of the experimental setup and the facility to put any shape, makes it very suitable for the undergraduate laboratory. Furthermore the normal modes of soap films can be used to demonstrate other two-dimensional analog phenomena. Finally, we want to mention that the proposed experimental setup can be quickly changed to study other related wave phenomena. A wide variety of highly nontrivial wave-like phenomena can be displayed with minimal experimental requirements.

## V Acknowledgments

We want to thank to T. H. Seligman, F. Leyvraz and J. A Heras, for their valuable comments. Also we would like to thank to the C. O. F., Física General and Física Moderna Laboratories of the Facultad de Ciencias U.N.A.M. and specially to Felipe Chávez. Finally we thank L. M. de la Cruz for his useful help with some of the figures. The numerical work was done in the Cray supercomputer of U.N.A.M.

1. E-mail: mendez@ce.ifisicam.unam.mx