Open orbits and the semiclassical dwell time

The Wigner delay time is addressed semiclassically using the Miller’s S-matrix expressed in terms of open orbits. This leads to a very appealing expression, in terms of classical paths, for the energy averaged Wigner time delay in chaotic scattering. The same approach also puts in evidence the semiclassical incapability to correctly assess the time delay higher moments. This limitation suggests that the use of the semiclassical approximation to quantify fluctuations in scattering phenomena, like in mesoscopic physics, has to be considered with great caution.