Spectral properties of size-invariant shape transformation

Abstract

Size-invariant shape transformation is a technique of changing the shape of a domain while preserving its sizes under the Lebesgue measure. In quantum confined systems, this transformation leads to so-called quantum shape effects in the physical properties of confined particles associated with the Dirichlet spectrum of the confining medium. Here we show that the geometric couplings between levels generated by the size-invariant shape transformations cause nonuniform scaling in the eigenspectra. In particular, the nonuniform level scaling is characterized by two distinct spectral features: lowering of the first eigenvalue (ground state reduction) and changing of the spectral gaps (energy level splitting or degeneracy formation depending on the symmetries). We explain the ground state reduction by the increase in local breadth (i.e. parts of the domain becoming less confined) that is associated with the sphericity of these local portions of the domain. We accurately quantify the sphericity using two different measures: the radius of the inscribed n-sphere and the Hausdorff distance. Due to Rayleigh-Faber-Krahn inequality, the greater the sphericity, the lower the first eigenvalue. Then, level splitting or degeneracy, depending on the symmetries of the initial configuration, becomes a direct consequence of size-invariance dictating the eigenvalues to have the same asymptotic behavior due to Weyl law. Furthermore, we find that the ground state reduction causes a quantum thermal avalanche which is the underlying reason for the peculiar effect of spontaneous transitions to lower entropy states in systems exhibiting the quantum shape effect. Unusual spectral characteristics of size-preserving transformations can assist in designing confinement geometries that could lead to classically inconceivable quantum thermal machines.