Regular and anomalous quantum diffusion in the Fibonacci kicked rotator

Abstract

We study the dynamics of a quantum rotator, impulsively kicked according to the almost-periodic Fibonacci sequence. A special numerical technique allows us to carry on this investigation for as many as 10(12) kicks. It is shown that above a critical kick strength, the excitation of the system is well described by regular diffusion, while below this border it becomes anomalous and subdiffusive. A law for the dependence of the exponent of anomalous subdiffusion on the kick strength is established numerically. The analogy between these results and quantum diffusion in models of quasicrystals and in the kicked Harper system is discussed.