  We propose the autocorrelator of conductance peak heights as a signature of
the underlying chaotic dynamics in quantum dots in the Coulomb blockade regime.
This correlation function is directly accessible to experiments and its decay
width contains interesting information about the underlying electron dynamics.
Analytical results are derived in the framework of random matrix theory in the
regime of broken time-reversal symmetry. The final expression, upon rescaling,
becomes independent of the details of the system. For the situation when the
external parameter is a variable magnetic field, the system-dependent,
nonuniversal field scaling factor is obtained by a semiclassical approach. The
validity of our findings is confirmed by a comparison with results of an exact
numerical diagonalization of the conformal billiard threaded by a magnetic flux
line.
