Eur. Phys. J. D 4, 181-187 (1998)
https://doi.org/10.1007/s100530050198

Molecular spectra, quantum chaos, and scars

¹ Departamento de Química, C-IX, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
² Departamento de Física y Mecánica, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Agrónomos, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain

Corresponding author: ^a f.borondo@uam.es

Received: 16 March 1998
Revised: 23 April 1998
Accepted: 4 May 1998
Published online: 15 November 1998

Abstract

Low resolution features in the spectra of classically chaotic atomic and molecular systems are known to be related to recurrences induced by classical periodic motions. In this paper we study how such characteristics reveal in the LiNC/LiCN isomerizing molecular system, and describe how the transition from regularity to classical chaos that takes place in this system shows up at quantum level in the structure of the corresponding wavefunctions in the form of "scars" . To this end we use some projection techniques, based on the propagation of wave packets, which have been developed in our laboratory. In this way some regions at the border of the chaotic region can be detected, in which the systematics of "scar" formation can be studied at a very elementary level, without complications due to the high level density which are customarily used in this type of studies in order to achieve the semiclassical limit.