FUNDAMENTALS OF PHYSICS - Introduction To Quantum Chaos - Denis Ullmo and Steven Tomsovic

INTRODUCTION TO QUANTUM CHAOS

Denis Ullmo
LPTMS, Univ Paris-Sud, CNRS UMR 8626, 91405 Orsay Cedex, France

Steven Tomsovic
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Washington State University, Pullman, WA
99164-2814 USA

Keywords: quantum chaos, random matrix theory, spectral statistics, Gutzwiller trace
formula, periodic orbit theory, kicked rotor, diamagnetic hydrogen, Coulomb blockade,
orbital magnetism.

Contents

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1. Introduction

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2. Background Context and History

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3. The Kicked Rotor

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4. Semiclassical Description of Chaotic Systems
5. Random Matrix Theory
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6. Physical Applications
7. Conclusion
Acknowledgments
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Glossary
Bibliography
Biographical Sketches
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Summary

The authors provide a pedagogical review of the subject of Quantum Chaos. The
subject’s origins date to the debut of the twentieth century when it was realized by
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Einstein that Bohr’s Old Quantum Theory could not apply to chaotic systems. A century
later, the issues arising in trying to understand the quantum mechanics of chaotic
systems are actively under research. The main theoretical tools for exploring how chaos
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enters into quantum mechanics and other wave mechanics such as optics and acoustics,
are semiclassical methods and random matrix theory. Both are briefly reviewed in their
own chapters. The kicked rotor, an important simple paradigm of chaos, is used to
illustrate some of the main issues in the field. The chapter proceeds with applications of
quantum chaos research to understanding the results of three very different experimental
systems.

1. Introduction

It is not trivial to compose a concise statement that defines the meaning of quantum
chaos precisely. In fact, it may be more helpful to begin with a description. One branch
of quantum chaos encompasses a statistical mechanics based on the nature of a system’s
dynamics, be it chaotic, diffusive, integrable, or some mixture. This means that one is
not relying on the thermodynamic limit in which the number of particles tends to

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FUNDAMENTALS OF PHYSICS - Introduction To Quantum Chaos - Denis Ullmo and Steven Tomsovic

infinity. Another branch is an analysis of what the behaviors of linear wave equation
solutions may be in a short wavelength or asymptotic limit. It applies equally well in the
contexts of quantum mechanics, acoustics, optics, or other linear wave systems, and
quantum chaos is sometimes referred to as wave chaos, which is really the more general
moniker. As the subject has developed, these two branches have become intimately
intertwined with each other and with parts of the theory of disordered systems. From
investigations of quantum chaos, many unexpected and deep connections have emerged
between quantum and classical mechanics, and wave and ray mechanics as well as
newly identified asymptotic and statistical behaviors of wave systems. Hopefully, the
meaning of these somewhat abstract statements will develop into a clearer mental image
as you proceed through the general subject introduction provided here.

The study of quantum chaos has multiple, important motivations. First, it is absolutely
essential if one wishes to understand deeply the interface between the quantum and
classical mechanical worlds. Together they form the foundation for all of physics and

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there is still much left to uncover about their connections and the Correspondence

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Principle. In addition, quantum chaos has pushed the development of new theoretical

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techniques and methods of analysis that apply to a wide variety of systems from simple

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single particle systems to strongly interacting many-body systems to branches of
mathematics. These developments are still underway and are still being applied to new
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domains.

A fascinating feature of quantum chaos is that it reveals a significant amount of

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universality in the behavior of extraordinarily different physical systems. For example,

acoustic wave intensities found in problems with strong multiple scattering that lead to a
probability density known as the Rayleigh distribution, Ericson fluctuations in the
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cross-sections of neutrons scattering from medium to heavy nuclei, and conductance

fluctuations found in chaotic or disordered quantum dots can be seen to possess a
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common underlying statistical structure. One is thus able to see essential parallels
between systems that would normally otherwise be left uncovered. Universality implies
a lack of sensitivity to many aspects of a system in its statistical properties, i.e. an
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absence of certain kinds of information. Furthermore, quantum chaos brings together

many disparate, seemingly unrelated concepts, i.e. classical chaos, semiclassical physics
and asymptotic methods, random matrix ensembles, path integrals, quantum field
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theories, Anderson localization, and ties them together in unexpected ways. We cannot
cover all of these topics here, and so make a selection of important foundations to cover
instead. However, we will list a few references at the end to some of what has been left
out for the interested reader.

It is not surprising then to see that quantum chaos has found application in many
domains. A partial list includes: i) low energy proton and neutron resonances in medium
and heavy nuclei; ii) ballistic quantum dots; iii) mesoscopic disordered electronic
conductors; iv) the Dirac spectrum in non-Abelian gauge field backgrounds; v) atomic
and molecular spectra; vi) Rydberg atoms and molecules; vii) microwave-driven atoms;
viii) ultra-cold atoms and optical lattices; ix) optical resonators; x) acoustics in crystals
and over long ranges of propagation in the ocean; xi) quantum computation and
information studies; xii) the Riemann zeta function and generalized L-functions; and
xiii) decoherence and fidelity studies. There are many other examples.

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FUNDAMENTALS OF PHYSICS - Introduction To Quantum Chaos - Denis Ullmo and Steven Tomsovic

The structure of this contribution is the following. The next section covers critical
background and historical developments. This is followed by the introduction of a
historically important, simple dynamical system, the kicked rotor, which illustrates the
notion of the quantum-classical correspondence, and provides in this way some intuition
of why, and in what way, one should expect classically chaotic dynamics to influence
the quantum mechanical properties of a system. Section 4 goes into the more formal
aspects of the quantum-classical correspondence, and in particular gives a more
concrete sense to different approximation schemes going under the name of
semiclassical approximations. It covers a brief review of the Bohr (or more generally
Einstein-Brillouin-Keller) quantization scheme, and discusses why this approach can be
applied only to integrable systems. This is followed by a description of semiclassical
trace formulae, applicable for a much wider range of dynamics, and in particular of the
Gutzwiller trace formula valid in the chaotic regime. Section 5 introduces random
matrix theory, which has proven extremely fruitful in the context of the quantum
dynamics of classically chaotic systems, namely the statistical description of the

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spectrum and eigenfunctions. Finally, in Section 6 we select a few systems, or

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problems, for which the concepts of quantum chaos have proven useful. We will in

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particular show how the tools described in Sections 4 and 5 can be applied in different

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physical contexts by considering the examples of the Hydrogen atom in a strong
magnetic field, the Coulomb Blockade in ballistic quantum dots, as well as some
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aspects of orbital magnetism.

2. Background Context and History

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2.1. Chaos
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At the end of the nineteenth century, the paradigm most physicists (as well as most
everyone actually) were relying on to understand the physical world was derived from
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the motion of planets. Within this paradigm, physical objects could be described by
their position and velocity, quantities which could be known arbitrarily well or at least
as precisely as one was able to measure them. Their time evolution was governed by
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Newton’s laws, which form a completely deterministic set of equations, and the subject
is known as classical mechanics. However, exact solutions of these equations were
derived only in certain simple cases, and it was usually assumed that sophisticated
approximation schemes could provide arbitrarily accurate solutions – as long as one was
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willing to put enough effort into the calculations.

A limitation to this notion that, at least in principle, it is possible to have complete

predictive power with respect to the dynamics of physical objects, arose with the
realization that the solutions to Newton’s equations could be exponentially unstable.
Already, Poincaré, in his study of the “three-body problem” of celestial dynamics knew
that under many circumstances, a qualitatively different and significantly more complex
kind of dynamics was taking place now known as chaos. It is worth understanding how
it differs from the dynamics of more readily solvable systems.

Let us begin by considering a stable, effectively one body, dynamical system, the Earth
revolving around the Sun at position r and with a momentum p relative to the Sun.
Assuming the Sun’s mass is immensely greater than the Earth’s, the Earth’s motion is

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FUNDAMENTALS OF PHYSICS - Introduction To Quantum Chaos - Denis Ullmo and Steven Tomsovic

governed by the classical Hamiltonian (the total energy of the system - kinetic plus
potential)

p2
H cl   V r  , (1)
2M 

associated with the gravitational potential energy

GM M 
V r   , (2)
r

where M  , M 
are the Earth’s and Sun’s masses, respectively, and G is the
gravitational constant. The derivative changes in position and momentum r and p are

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given by Hamilton’s equations

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H cl p
r 

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p M
(3)
H V
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p   cl  
r r

which can be shown to be equivalent to the Newton equations of motion

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M r   V r . Depending on the initial conditions,  r  0  , p  0   , Eq. (3) is solved

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with Eqs. (1, 2) to give the known (Keplerian) elliptical orbits that are excellent
approximations to Earth’s true motion.
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It turns out that both the kinetic energy term p 2 2M  and the gravitational potential
V r  are invariant under a rotation of the physical space. This implies that one can
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construct two independent constants of the motion associated with angular momentum.
Adding another to this list, Earth’s total energy, which is conserved because the
Hamiltonian, Eqs. (1, 2), has no explicit time dependence, there are three constants of
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the motion. Any system, such as this, which has as many constants of motion as degrees
of freedom is said to be integrable. Integrability implies that the motion of the system is
stable in the sense that a small change in the initial position or velocity implies a small
change, with a linear time-dependence of the final position and velocity. In the same
way, a small perturbation of an integrable Hamiltonian, as could be realized by
accounting for Jupiter’s gravitational pull on the Earth, would not drastically alter the
trajectories or stabilities.

Before modern computers made it possible to perform extensive numerical simulations,

the class of problems physicists or mathematicians could effectively solve were either
integrable or sufficiently near integrability that a perturbative scheme could be applied.
This class included both the “two-body problem”, i.e. two bodies interacting via a
central force such as the Earth example, and small perturbations around stable
equilibrium points. The theory was very successful for this broad range of physical

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FUNDAMENTALS OF PHYSICS - Introduction To Quantum Chaos - Denis Ullmo and Steven Tomsovic

situations, and at times it was erroneously assumed that to broaden the range of treatable
problems, one had merely to work harder doing longer calculations or calculate more
terms in a perturbations series.

However, integrability and/or near-integrability is a rather exceptional property for a

dynamical system to possess. Systems with three or more bodies interacting often
behave radically different from integrable systems. The motion of Earth’s Moon and
Pluto are both chaotic as each are effectively part of a three body system (Sun, Earth,
Moon or Sun, Neptune, Pluto). Even deceptively simple looking systems may display
chaos. Consider Bunimovich’s stadium billiard, mathematically proven completely
chaotic, shown in Figure 1, and consider a point-like particle of mass m moving freely
(that is in a straight line) inside the billiard and subject to specular reflection on the
boundaries. Contrary to the Earth’s orbit around the Sun, a particle’s motion within this
billiard is highly unstable. As illustrated in Figure 1, two trajectories initiated with
slightly different initial conditions diverge exponentially quickly from each other, and

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after just a few bounces are not correlated anymore. In the same way, even the slightest

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perturbation would completely change a trajectory after a relatively small number of

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bounces. The motion within the stadium billiard is associated with the strongest form of

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chaotic dynamics. It is perfectly deterministic, so that exact knowledge of position and
velocity at some initial time fixes the evolution to all times, and yet the evolution is so
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unstable that any uncertainty in the initial conditions quickly makes both position and
velocity unpredictable.
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Figure 1. An example of a strongly chaotic system: the Bunimovich stadium billiard.

The two trajectories indicated by the solid and dashed lines begin with a slightly
different starting point. Their divergence is an illustration of exponential sensitivity to
initial conditions.
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After the pioneering work of Poincaré, little progress was made in the study of chaotic
systems and, more generally, of systems far from integrability until the 1960’s or
1970’s. Then computer simulations made it possible to develop one’s intuition about
their behaviors and to motivate more formal work concerning their qualitative and
statistical properties. Note that integrable and chaotic systems correspond to the two
limiting cases of the most stable and most unstable dynamics. Typical low dimensional
systems usually fall in the intermediate category of mixed dynamics in which integrable-
like and chaotic-like motions coexist in different regions of phase space.

2.2. Quantum Mechanics

A second, quite fundamental limitation to the notion that one could have complete

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FUNDAMENTALS OF PHYSICS - Introduction To Quantum Chaos - Denis Ullmo and Steven Tomsovic

predictive power over physical objects, arose with the realization that microscopic
systems, such as atoms and molecules require a description in terms of quantum
mechanics. Classically and non-relativistically, the Hydrogen atom, other than the
values of its constants and microscopic size, leads to equations identical to that of the
Sun and Earth system; i.e.

p2
H cl   V r  (4)
2me

with

e2
V r    (5)
4 0 r

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where me is the mass of the electron, e the electric charge, and 0 the permittivity

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constant. The electron then in a classical world would follow elliptical orbits around the
proton in a Hydrogen atom just like the Earth moves around the Sun.

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Quantum mechanics implies however drastic conceptual changes. Rather than being
entirely characterized by it’s position and velocity, the electron is now described by a
wave-function   r,t  , whose modulus square   r,t 
2
specifies the probability that
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the particle can be found at position r at time t . As a consequence position, as well as

velocity, can be known only in a probabilistic way, not with an arbitrary precision, and
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not simultaneously. The time evolution of the wavefunction is then given by the [time-
dependent] Schrödinger equation
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
i  Hˆ qu , (6)
t
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where the quantum version of the Hamiltonian

def 2
Hˆ qu     V r 
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(7)
2me

is obtained from the classical counterpart H cl Eq. (4) through the substitution
p  i r .

From the Schrödinger equation, Eq. (6), we see that in quantum mechanics a particular
role will be played by the static solutions, called eigenenergies and eigenfunctions, of
the quantum Hamiltonian Ĥ qu , i.e. the set of real numbers n and functions
n r  n  0,1,2,  fulfilling the eigenvalue equation (or stationary Schrödinger
equation)

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FUNDAMENTALS OF PHYSICS - Introduction To Quantum Chaos - Denis Ullmo and Steven Tomsovic

Hˆ qun  nn . (8)

Indeed, from Eq. (6) the time evolution of the n ’th eigenfunction is
n  t   n  0 exp   i nt  . Therefore to within the phase exp   i nt  , which is not a
measurable quantity,  n is a stationary function. In a more rigorous theory of the
Hydrogen atom, in which the interaction with the electromagnetic environment is
included, the energies  of the photons emitted or absorbed by the atom are generally
given by the difference  n  n  between two eigenenergies. This indicates that the
Hydrogen atom has switched from the state  n to the state  n . As the most natural way
to probe the properties of an atom or a molecule is to look at the color of the light they
emit or absorb, i.e. at the energy of the corresponding photons, the spectrum of an atom
or molecule (that is the set of all energies of the corresponding quantum Hamiltonian) is
the most immediate quantity to access. In addition, many important properties of

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quantum systems, and in particular thermodynamic quantities, are entirely determined

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by their energy spectra. More focus ahead is on the description of the quantum energy

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spectra, keeping in mind however that this does not exhaust the richness of the quantum

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world.
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2.3. Correspondence Principle & Quantum Chaos

In the early twentieth century quantum mechanics began with a primitive form known
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as the “Old Quantum Theory.” It was the statement that among all possible trajectories,
def
only one with the classical action J   pdr being a multiple of Planck’s constant 2
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could actually correspond to a stationary state of the quantum particle. The action, and
thus the energy of the electron had to be “quantized”.
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In the modern form of quantum mechanics the link between the quantum and the
classical world is less immediate, but still exists through what is referred to as the
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Correspondence Principle. For instance, the quantum Hamiltonian Eq. (7) describing the
Hydrogen atom could be associated with a classical counterpart, here given by Eqs. (1)-
(5). This remains true on a very general basis. Quantum Hamiltonians can be associated
with a classical analog, which, in some sense corresponds to its classical limit as  0
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(or more correctly when all action variables are large compared with ).

Even before the emergence of the full quantum theory, it was recognized that the
primitive form can only apply to integrable systems. With the modern form of quantum
mechanics, the Correspondence Principle is effective irrespectively of the nature of the
dynamics. A question that naturally arises then is whether this concept of chaos, which
has been developed in the context of classical physics, is relevant when studying a
quantum system.

This interrogation could actually be approached in two rather different ways. The first
one would be to decide whether, for instance, by making a choice different than Eq. (5)
of the potential V r  , there exists a class of quantum Hamiltonians such that the
Schrödinger equation (6) is chaotic. One possible sense of the term “chaos" here could

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FUNDAMENTALS OF PHYSICS - Introduction To Quantum Chaos - Denis Ullmo and Steven Tomsovic

be that two slightly different initial wave functions 1  r, t  0 and 2 r, t  0 diverge
“exponentially” rapidly from one another with time. It turns out however that one can
answer this question under relatively general conditions, and the answer is negative.
Indeed, the simple fact that the Schrödinger equation is linear (i.e. that a linear
combination of two solutions of Eq. (6) is also a solution of this equation) makes it
impossible that chaos, in any sense similar to classical mechanics, develops in quantum
mechanics.

Another more interesting and productive approach to the role of chaos in quantum
mechanics is associated with exploring the interrelations mentioned above between a
quantum system and its classical analog through the Correspondence Principle. Indeed,
within this framework it becomes meaningful to ask whether the quantum mechanics of
some system is qualitatively different if its classical analog displays a completely
chaotic and irregular behavior. The answer to this question is positive, and one purpose

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of quantum chaos is to determine in what ways. We shall illustrate this statement in the
next section using the particular example of the kicked rotor, and come back after that to

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a discussion of the role of chaos in quantum mechanics with a broader perspective.

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Bibligraphy

[1] M. J. Giannoni, A. Voros, and J. Jinn-Justin, editors (1991). Chaos and Quantum Physics. North-
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Holland, Amsterdam. [contains several introductory courses that together comprise the main foundations
of quantum chaos].
[2] C. E. Porter (1965). Statistical Theories of Spectra: Fluctuations. Academic Press, New York. [begins
with a readable overview of random matrix theory and contains a collection of its early foundational
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research papers].
[3] M. L. Mehta (2004). Random Matrices (Third Edition). Elsevier, Amsterdam. [explains mathematical
methods used to derive many of the important results coming from early random matrix theory].
[4] H.-J. Stöckmann (1999). Quantum Chaos: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press, New York.
[a pedagogical introduction to random matrix theory].
[5] M. C. Gutzwiller (1990). Chaos in Classical and Quantum Mechanics. Springer-Verlag, New York.
[covers the basic semiclassical theory that relates properties of periodic orbits to quantum spectra, and is
known loosely as periodic orbit theory].
[6] A. M. Ozorio de Almeida (1988). Hamiltonian systems: Chaos and quantization. Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge. [contains many sophisticated results in classical mechanics that become
very useful in semiclassical theory for understanding quantum statistics, symmetry breaking, and the
relations with random matrix theory].
[7] P. Cvitanović, R. Artuso, R. Mainieri, G. Tanner and G. Vattay (2012). Chaos: Classical and
Quantum, ChaosBook.org Niels Bohr Institute, Copenhagen . [very complete WebBook – with links to

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FUNDAMENTALS OF PHYSICS - Introduction To Quantum Chaos - Denis Ullmo and Steven Tomsovic

online courses and videos – with a special focus on classical and quantum trace formulae].
[8] V. P. Maslov and M. V. Fedoriuk (1981). Semiclassical approximation in quantum mechanics. Reidel
Publishing, Dordrecht. [gives a rigorous mathematical treatment of stationary phase and saddle point
approximations that generate semiclassical theory, which relates classical and quantum mechanics].
[9] E. J. Heller and S. Tomsovic (1993). Post-modern quantum mechanics. Physics Today 46(7):38–46.
[reviews semiclassical theory starting with time dependent quantum mechanics and wave packets].
[10] O. Bohigas, S. Tomsovic, and D. Ullmo (1993). Manifestations of classical phase space structures in
quantum mechanics. Phys. Rep., 223:43–133. [explains how classical structures, i.e. tori and chaotic
transport barriers, give rise to new quantum phenomena such as modified spectral statistics, chaos-
assisted tunneling, and eigenfunction localization].
[11] D. Braun (2001). Dissipative quantum chaos and decoherence. Springer, Berlin. [one of the few
accounts of how to incorporate decoherence and dissipation into the subject of quantum chaos].
[12] S. Keshavamurthy and P. Schlagheck, editors (2011). Dynamical Tunneling: Theory and Experiment.
CRC Press, Boca Raton. [contains several contributions that describes many new features of quantum
tunneling discovered in the past twenty years. Typically, the new phenomena can be related to the

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presence of chaos in the classical dynamics].
[13] H. Friedrich and D. Wintgen (1989). The Hydrogen atom in a uniform magnetic field – an example

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of chaos. Phys Rep, 183:37–79. [contains a comprehensive treatment of the diamagnetic Hydrogen atom
as a physical realization of a quantum chaotic system].

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[14] T. A. Brody, J. Flores, J. B. French, P. A. Mello, A. Pandey, and S. S. M. Wong (1981). Random-
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matrix physics: spectrum and strength fluctuations. Rev. Mod. Phys., 53:385–479. [reviews the
foundations of random matrix theory especially in the context of statistical nuclear physics].
[15] O. Bohigas and H. A. Weidenmueller (1988). Aspects of chaos in nuclear physics.
Ann. Rev. Nucl. Part. Sci., 38:421–453. [a review of how random matrix theory enters statistical nuclear
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physics with attention given to scattering formulations].

[16] Fritz Haake (2010). Quantum Signatures of Chaos Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg (third
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edition). [general overview about quantum chaos, includes some discussion of supersymmetric
techniques].
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[17] P. Leboeuf (2005). Regularity and Chaos in the Nuclear Masses. Lecture Notes in Physics 652,
Springer, Berlin Heidelberg.[discusses the role of periodic orbits and chaotic dynamics in nuclear masses]
[18] C. W. J. Beenakker (1997). Random-matrix theory of quantum transport. Rev. Mod. Phys.,
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69(3):731–808. [contains a review of how random matrix theory is used to describe mesoscopic electrical
conductors].
[19] D. Ullmo (2008). Many-body physics and quantum chaos. Rep. Prog. Phys., 71:026001. [reviews the
many ways that quantum chaos, both semiclassical theory and random matrix methods, enter into many-
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body problems especially in the context of mesoscopic physics].

[20] Y. Imry (1997). Introduction to Mesoscopic Physics. Oxford University Press. [provides a general
introduction to electronic mesoscopic systems].
[21] K. Richter (2000). Semiclassical Theory of Mesoscopic Systems. Springer-Verlag. [describes how the
semiclassical techniques developed in the field of quantum chaos can be used to understand physical
properties of mesoscopic systems].
[22] E. Akkermans and G. Montambaux (2007). Mesoscopic Physics of Electrons and Photons.
Cambridge University Press. [contains a readable and rigorous description of our understanding of the
physical properties of mesoscopic systems].
[23] I. L. Aleiner, P. W. Brouwer, and L. I. Glazman (2002). Quantum effects in coulomb blockade. Phys.
Rep., 358:309–440. [reviews the phenomenon of Coulomb Blockade in mesoscopic dots in the low
temperature regime where quantum effects are relevant].
[24] K. Richter, D. Ullmo, and R. A. Jalabert (1996). Orbital magnetism in the ballistic regime:
geometrical effects. Phys. Rep., 276:1. [gives the theory of the response of mesoscopic conductors to the

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FUNDAMENTALS OF PHYSICS - Introduction To Quantum Chaos - Denis Ullmo and Steven Tomsovic

application of magnetic fields].

[25] M. Wright and R. Weaver, editors (2010). New directions in linear acoustics and vibration: quantum
chaos, random matrix theory and complexity. Cambridge. [a collection of introductory courses detailing
how quantum chaos (semiclassical theory and random matrix theory) enters into various acoustic
problems].

Biographical Sketches

Denis Ullmo earned a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from the university of Paris-Sud in 1992 under the
direction of Oriol Bohigas. He then worked within the Theoretical Division of the Nuclear Physics
Institute of Orsay until he was appointed resident visitor at the Bell Laboratories (Murray Hill, NJ) from
December 1994 to May 1997. After this, he joined the LPTMS (Laboratoire de Physique Théorique et
Modèles Statistiques, Paris-Sud university) where he now holds a Directeur de Recherche position at the
French CNRS (Centre National de Recherche Scientifique). During that period, he spent three years (from
2002 to 2005) as a visiting professor at Duke University (North Carolina) in the group of Harold
Baranger.

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Denis Ullmo’s scientific interests include quantum chaos and its applications to mesoscopic physics. He
has worked in particular on quantum tunneling in the presence of chaos, as well as on the thermodynamic

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and transport properties of quantum dots.

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Steve Tomsovic earned a Ph.D. in theoretical and statistical nuclear physics from the University of
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Rochester in 1987 with J. B. French. Afterward he received a Joliot-Curie Fellowship and IN2P3 stipend
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to work with Oriol Bohigas in Orsay, France for two years. He then spent six years working with Eric
Heller at the University of Washington, one year of which was spent visiting the Harvard-Smitsonian
Center for Astrophysics as a Fellow. Now a professor at Washington State University, he was department
chair of Physics and Astronomy for eight years. He has been an invited visiting professor at the
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Laboratory for Theoretical Physics and Statistical Models in Orsay, France, and at the Indian Institute for
Technology Madras in Chennai, India, and was also recently awarded a Senior Research Fulbright
Fellowship for work in Germany, and held the Martin Gutzwiller Fellowship of the Max Planck Institute
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for the Physics of Complex Systems in Dresden, Germany. He has organized a number of international
programs and conferences.
Steven Tomsovic research specialties include the wave mechanics of chaos and disorder, semiclassical
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methods, random matrix theory, statistical nuclear physics, mesoscopic systems, and long range ocean
acoustics.
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