Abstract
We derive contributions to the trace formula for the spectral density accounting for the role of diffractive orbits in two-dimensional billiard systems with corners. This is achieved by using the exact Sommerfeld solution for the Green function of a wedge. We obtain a uniformly valid formula for single-diffractive orbits which interpolates between formerly separate approaches (the geometrical theory of diffraction and Gutzwiller's trace formula). It yields excellent numerical agreement with exact quantum results, also in cases where other methods fail.
- Received 23 August 1996
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.55.2279
©1997 American Physical Society