We present an approach of the kicked-rotor quantum resonances in position space, based on its analogy with the optical Talbot effect. This leads to a very simple picture of the physical mechanism underlying the dynamics and to analytical expressions for relevant physical quantities. The ballistic behavior, which is closely associated with quantum resonances, is analyzed and shown to emerge from a coherent adding of successive kicks thanks to a periodic reconstruction of the spatial wave packet.

• Received 11 November 2007

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.77.043628