Irregular scattering (Q1118893)

Hamiltonian systems with unbounded phases space can become chaotic by very much the same mechanisms as bounded systems. However, a scattering process is in some respects simpler than bounded motion since asymptotically the interaction becomes negligible. ``Chaos'' shows up in the form of a Cantor set of singularities for which the scattering process is not defined. We here review the phenomenon of irregular scattering, its origins, various methods of analysis and its relationship to bounded chaos. The universality of irregular scattering in classical mechanics is illustrated by examples from reactive scattering in chemistry, the celestial three-body problem and point vertex motion in hydrodynamics.