Quantum effects of periodic orbits for the kicked top

We analyze traces of powers of the time evolution operator of a periodically kicked top. Semiclassically, such traces are related to periodic orbits of the classical map. We derive the semiclassical traces in a coherent state basis and show how the periodic orbits can be recovered via a Fourier transform. A breakdown of the stationary phase approximation is detected. The quasi energy spectrum remains elusive due to lack of knowledge of sufficiently many periodic orbits. Divergencies of periodic orbit formulas are avoided by appealing to the finiteness of the quantum mechanical Hilbert space. The traces also enter the coefficients of the characteristic polynominal of the Floquet operator. Statistical properties of these coefficients give rise to a new criterion for the distinction of chaos and regular motion.