Manifestation of quantum chaos in scattering techniques: Application to low-energy and photoelectron diffraction intensities

Intensities of low-energy electron diffraction and photoelectron diffraction are analyzed from a statistical point of view. The probability distribution is compared with a Porter-Thomas law, characteristic of a chaotic quantum system, The agreement obtained is understood in terms of analogies between simple models and Berry's conjecture for a typical wave function of a chaotic system. The consequences of this behavior on surface structural analysis are qualitatively discussed by looking at the behavior of standard correlation factors. [S0031-9007(97)05221-6].