Chaotic dynamics of three-dimensional H\'enon maps that originate from a homoclinic bifurcation

We study bifurcations of a three-dimensional diffeomorphism, $g_0$, that has a quadratic homoclinic tangency to a saddle-focus fixed point with multipliers (\lambda e^{i\vphi}, \lambda e^{-i\vphi}, \gamma), where $0<\lambda<1<|\gamma|$ and $|\lambda^2\gamma|=1$. We show that in a three-parameter family, g_{\eps}, of diffeomorphisms close to $g_0$, there exist infinitely many open regions near \eps =0 where the corresponding normal form of the first return map to a neighborhood of a homoclinic point is a three-dimensional H\'enon-like map. This map possesses, in some parameter regions, a "wild-hyperbolic" Lorenz-type strange attractor. Thus, we show that this homoclinic bifurcation leads to a strange attractor. We also discuss the place that these three-dimensional H\'enon maps occupy in the class of quadratic volume-preserving diffeomorphisms.Comment: laTeX, 25 pages, 6 eps figure

Simulations of driven overdamped frictionless hard spheres

We introduce an event-driven simulation scheme for overdamped dynamics of frictionless hard spheres subjected to external forces, neglecting hydrodynamic interactions. Our event-driven approach is based on an exact equation of motion which relates the driving force to the resulting velocities through the geometric information characterizing the underlying network of contacts between the hard spheres. Our method allows for a robust extraction of the instantaneous coordination of the particles as well as contact force statistics and dynamics, under any chosen driving force, in addition to shear flow and compression. It can also be used for generating high-precision jammed packings under shear, compression, or both. We present a number of additional applications of our method.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figure