Semiclassical trace formulas in terms of phase space path integrals (Q5938534)

The trace formula of \textit{M. C. Gutzwiller} as presented in his book Chaos in Classical and Quantum Mechanics, Springer (1990; Zbl 0919.00047) and valid in the semiclassical regime is reexamined to clarify the appearance of the Maslov index of a periodic orbit which is an extra phase in the trace formula and, as the author claims, has not fully been understood. The author uses phase space path integrals in \(2n\) dimensions throughout and shows that the calculation of the Maslov index essentially leads to the problem of classifying all connections on a vector bundle over the 1-sphere with structure group \(\text{Sp}(2n,R)\). Thus, the central idea is that the Maslov index of a given periodic stable orbit is determined by the (linearized) symplectic flow near the orbit. The Maslov index for multiple repetitions of the orbit is found. The last section is devoted to studying time-dependent Hamiltonians, where the trace of the resolvent and its semiclassical approximation are discussed. For unstable orbits, though, it is not enough to consider one orbit together with its repetitions. To include unstable periodic orbits in the trace formula poses a yet unsolved problem.