RESUMEN
We study fluctuations of survival probability in an open quantum system classically described by a map with a mixed phase space. Our results provide the first numerical support to theoretical predictions that such fluctuations have a fractal structure, quantitatively related to the algebraic decay of the classical survival probability.
RESUMEN
We study the time dependence of the ionization probability of Rydberg atoms driven by a microwave field, both in classical and in quantum mechanics. The quantum survival probability follows the classical one up to the Heisenberg time and then decays algebraically as P(t) approximately 1/t. This decay law derives from the exponentially long times required to escape from some region of the phase space, due to tunneling and localization effects. We also provide parameter values which should allow one to observe such decay in laboratory experiments.