Quantum chaos, irreversible classical dynamics, and random matrix theory.

The Bohigas-Giannoni-Schmit conjecture stating that the statistical spectral properties of systems which are chaotic in their classical limit coincide with random matrix theory (RMT) is proved. A new semiclassical field theory for individual chaotic systems is constructed in the framework of a nonlinear s model. The low lying modes are shown to be associated with the Perron-Frobenius (PF) spectrum of the underlying irreversible classical dynamics. It is shown that the existence of a gap in the PF spectrum results in RMT behavior. Moreover, our formalism offers a way of calculating system specific corrections beyond RMT. [S0031-9007(96)00191-3]