Ray-splitting billiards

Ray splitting is a universal phenomenon that occurs with appreciable amplit ude in all wave systems when the properties of the system change on a scale smaller than the wave length. We study the quantum implications of ray spl itting theoretically and experimentally with the help of ray-splitting bill iards in one and two dimensions. We show that Gutzwiller's trace formula wo rks even in the context of ray-splitting systems provided reflection and tr ansmission of waves at ray-splitting boundaries is properly included.