We study the formation of long-lived states near avoided resonance crossings in open systems. For three different optical microcavities (rectangle, ellipse, and semistadium) we provide numerical evidence that these states are localized along periodic rays, resembling scarred states in closed systems. Our results shed light on the morphology of long-lived states in open mesoscopic systems.

• Received 21 June 2006

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.97.253901