Chaos, Quantization and the Correspondence Principle

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Dr. Batterman is investigating the connections between classical and quantum mechanics,in light of the fact that classical systems appear to allow generic chaotic behavior while quantum systems do not. One question he is asking is that of a definition of chaos for quantum systems. While there is at least some consensus on how to define chaos in classical physics,the question of a definition for chaos in quantum mechanics is completely open. One approach to a quantum definition for chaos is to adopt an algorithmic complexity definition. The virtue of this view is that it seems to be "theory neutral." On this definition, quantum mechanics is completely inhospitable to chaos. Dr. Batterman argues that this definition is to be resisted, since to a certain degree it divorces the issue of chaos from the dynamics. Instead, Dr. Batterman argues that a proper understanding of the correspondence principle resolves the problem of defining quantum chaos. The correspondence principle, when properly interpreted already supplies a unified account of chaos--for both classical and quantum mechanics. Dr. Batterman argues that the interpretation of the correspondence principle which he advocates has historical support which can be found in Niels Bohr's early writing on the quantum theory.