Sinai billiards, Ruelle zeta-functions and Ruelle resonances: microwave experiments

Abstract

We discuss the impact of recent developments in the theory of chaotic dynamical systems, particularly the results of Sinai and Ruelle, on microwave experiments designed to study quantum chaos. The properties of closed Sinai billiard microwave cavities are discussed in terms of universal predictions from random matrix theory, as well as periodic orbit contributions which manifest as `scars' in eigenfunctions. The semiclassical and classical Ruelle zeta-functions lead to quantum and classical resonances, both of which are observed in microwave experiments on n-disk hyperbolic billiards.