Precursors and Transition to Chaos in a Quantum Well in a Tilted Magnetic Field

Abstract

The discovery of a distinct transition from integrable to chaotic electron dynamics results from resonant tunneling spectroscopy of a quantum well in a tilted magnetic field. The tunneling spectra show peak doubling regions at small tilt angles, which give way to peak tripling at larger tilt angles. The transition to chaos is mapped systematically (by varying bias voltage, magnetic field, tilt angle, and the width of the quantum well). We find that peak doubling (tripling) results from bifurcation (trifurcation) of the dominant stable periodic orbit. These are precursors of the chaos transition.