FLOQUET SPECTRUM FOR 2-LEVEL SYSTEMS IN QUASI-PERIODIC TIME-DEPENDENT FIELDS

We study the time evolution of N-level quantum systems under quasiperiodic time-dependent perturbations. The problem is formulated in terms of the spectral properties of a quasienergy operator defined in an enlarged Hilbert space. or equivalently of a generalized Floquet operator. We discuss criteria for the appearance of pure point as well as continuous spectrum, corresponding respectively to stable quasiperiodic dynamics and to unstable chaotic behavior. We discuss two types of mechanisms that lead to instability. The first one is due to near resonances, while the second one is of topological nature and can be present for arbitrary ratios between the frequencies of the perturbation. We treat explicitly an example of this type. The stability of the pure point spectrum under small perturbations is proven using KAM techniques.