Semiclassical theory of weighted spectra for regular systems: Absorption spectra and decay rates

We derive a simple semiclassical representation to describe the large-scale structure of the spectrum of regular systems weighted by some arbitrary function W. Examples of weighted spectra are the width-weighted spectrum, which represents the decay rate of an unstable system, and the oscillator-strength-weighted spectrum, which represents the photoabsorption rate. Semiclassical representations of such spectra involve stationary-phase contributions, which are periodic or closed orbits, and end-point contributions, which are loops on an extremal torus. The theory provides the link between semiquantal formulas and the closed-orbit theory of atomic photoabsorption. It also allows calculation of an average decay rate without knowledge of the widths of individual quantum states.