Journal of Statistical Physics, Vol. 91 Nos. 1/2, 1998. p. 477-479.
The idea of using the precision available in experimental atomic physics to check predictions of mainly numerical results of the theory of chaos is an extremely appealing one. However, the connection between atomic physics described by the linear equations of quantum mechanics and the essentially nonlinear theory of chaos seem at first glance to be at least questionable. The key to understanding the link between these two research areas lies in the fact that high energy quantum states can be described semi-classically. This crucial idea provides the connection between the subject area of chaos and molecular physics...