Phase Mixing in Unperturbed and Perturbed Hamiltonian Systems

This paper summarises a numerical investigation of phase mixing in time-independent Hamiltonian systems that admit a coexistence of regular and chaotic phase space regions, allowing also for low amplitude perturbations idealised as periodic driving, friction, and/or white and coloured noise. The evolution of initially localised ensembles of orbits was probed through lower order moments and coarse-grained distribution functions. In the absence of time-dependent perturbations, regular ensembles disperse initially as a power law in time and only exhibit a coarse-grained approach towards an invariant equilibrium over comparatively long times. Chaotic ensembles generally diverge exponentially fast on a time scale related to a typical finite time Lyapunov exponent, but can exhibit complex behaviour if they are impacted by the effects of cantori or the Arnold web. Viewed over somewhat longer times, chaotic ensembles typical converge exponentially towards an invariant or near-invariant equilibrium. This, however, need not correspond to a true equilibrium, which may only be approached over very long time scales. Time-dependent perturbations can dramatically increase the efficiency of phase mixing, both by accelerating the approach towards a near-equilibrium and by facilitating diffusion through cantori or along the Arnold web so as to accelerate the approach towards a true equilibrium. The efficacy of such perturbations typically scales logarithmically in amplitude, but is comparatively insensitive to most other details, a conclusion which reinforces the interpretation that the perturbations act via a resonant coupling.