Quantum Chaos An Introduction

This book introduces the quantum mechanics of classically chaotic systems, or quantum chaos for short. The author's philosophy has been to keep the discussion simple and to illustrate theory, wherever possible, with experimental or numerical examples. The microwave billiard experiments, initiated by the author and his group, play a major role in this respect. Topics covered include the various types of billiard experiment, random matrix theory, systems with periodic time dependences, the analogy between the dynamics of a one-dimensional gas with a repulsive interaction and spectral level dynamics, where an external parameter takes the role of time, scattering theory distributions and fluctuation, properties of scattering matrix elements, semiclassical quantum mechanics, periodic orbit theory, and the Gutzwiller trace formula. This book will be of great value to anyone working in quantum chaos.

Preface; 1. Introduction; 2. Billiard experiments; 3. Random matrices; 4. Floquet and tight-binding systems; 5. Eigenvalue dynamics; 6. Scattering systems; 7. Semiclassical quantum mechanics; 8. Applications of periodic orbit theory; References; Index.