Quantization Ambiguity, Ergodicity, and Semiclassics

Abstract

A simple argument shows that eigenstates of a classically ergodic system are individually ergodic on coarse-grained scales. This has implications for the quantization ambiguity in ergodic systems: the difference between alternative quantizations is suppressed compared with the $O(\hbar^2)$ ambiguity in the integrable case. For two-dimensional ergodic systems in the high-energy regime, individual eigenstates are independent of the choice of quantization procedure, in contrast with the regular case, where even the ordering of eigenlevels is ambiguous. Surprisingly, semiclassical methods are shown to be much more precise for chaotic than for integrable systems.