A Surface of Section for Hydrogen in Crossed Electric and Magnetic Fields

A well defined global surface of section (SOS) is a necessary first step in many studies of various dynamical systems. Starting with a surface of section, one is able to more easily find periodic orbits as well as other geometric structures that govern the nonlinear dynamics of the system in question. In some cases, a global surface of section is relatively easily defined, but in other cases the definition is not trivial, and may not even exist. This is the case for the electron dynamics of a hydrogen atom in crossed electric and magnetic fields. In this paper, we demonstrate how one can define a surface of section and associated return map that may fail to be globally well defined, but for which the dynamics is well defined and continuous over a region that is sufficiently large to include the heteroclinic tangle and thus offers a sound geometric approach to studying the nonlinear dynamics.