The transfer operator approach to Selberg's zeta function and modular and Maass wave forms for \(\text{PSL}(2,\mathbb{Z})\) (Q4524307)

Selberg's work on the trace formula and his zeta function are interpreted in the current literature on quantum chaos as key examples for the connection between classical and quantum physics: The Selberg zeta function may be looked at as a dynamical zeta function associated to the geodesic flow on the unit tangent bundle of a surface of constant negative curvature. It is the generating function for the classical length spectrum, that is, for the closed orbits of the flow, and hence is a classical notion. Through the trace formula, these data are related to the spectrum of the Laplacian on the surface, which may be regarded as an object of quantum mechanics. The authors develop an approach to this circle of problems based on the transfer operator method. The situation turns out to be best accessible in the case of the modular group \(\text{PSL}(2,\mathbb{Z})\), and the authors concentrate on this ideal example for testing how far the transfer operator method can be used to derive the properties of the Selberg zeta function from this operator. It turns out that this approach yields even more than just the analytic properties of the Selberg zeta function. The eigenfunctions of the transfer operator are related not only to the classical holomorphic modular forms on \(\text{PSL}(2,\mathbb{Z})\), the Maaß wave forms and the real analytic Eisenstein series. There are also connections with the period polynomials of the holomorphic modular cusp forms and the period functions of the holomorphic Eisenstein series, and there are relations with certain ``period functions'' which were associated with Maaß cusp forms in recent work by \textit{J. Lewis} and \textit{D. Zagier} [Ann. Math. (2) 153, 191-258 (2001; Zbl 1061.11021))]. For the entire collection see [Zbl 0919.00047].