Scarring effects on tunneling in chaotic double-well potentials

The connection between scarring and tunneling in chaotic double-well potentials is studied in detail through the distribution of level splittings. The mean level splitting is found to have oscillations as a function of energy, as expected if scarring plays a role in determining the size of the splittings, and the spacing between peaks is observed to be periodic of period 2πħ in action. Moreover, the size of the oscillations is directly correlated with the strength of scarring. These results are interpreted within the theoretical framework of Creagh and Whelan. The semiclassical limit and finite-ħ effects are discussed, and connections are made with reaction rates and resonance widths in metastable wells.