M. E. Berbenni-Bitsch, M. Göckeler, H. Hehl, S. Meyer, P.E.L. Rakow, A. Schäfer, T. Wettig

• Abstract: The distribution and the correlations of the small eigenvalues of the Dirac operator are described by random matrix theory (RMT) up to the Thouless energy E_= 1 / sqrt (V), where V is the physical volume. For somewhat larger energies, the same quantities can be described by chiral perturbation theory (chPT). For most quantities there is an intermediate energy regime, roughly 1/V < E < 1/sqrt (V), where the results of RMT and chPT agree with each other. We test these predictions by constructing the connected and disconnected scalar susceptibilities from Dirac spectra obtained in quenched SU(2) and SU(3) simulations with staggered fermions for a variety of lattice sizes and coupling constants. In deriving the predictions of chPT, it is important totake into account only those symmetries which are exactly realized on the lattice.