Classical invariants and the quantization of chaotic systems

Long periodic orbits constitute a serious drawback in Gutzwiller's theory of chaotic systems, and then it would be desirable that other classical invariants, not suffering from the same problem, could be used in the quantization of such systems. In this respect, we demonstrate how a suitable dynamical analysis of chaotic quantum spectra unveils the fundamental role played by classical invariant areas related to the stable and unstable manifolds of short periodic orbits.