Strange Nonchaotic Attractors

Aperiodic dynamics which is nonchaotic is realized on Strange Nonchaotic attractors (SNAs). Such attractors are generic in quasiperiodically driven nonlinear systems, and like strange attractors, are geometrically fractal. The largest Lyapunov exponent is zero or negative: trajectories do not show exponential sensitivity to initial conditions. In recent years, SNAs have been seen in a number of diverse experimental situations ranging from quasiperiodically driven mechanical or electronic systems to plasma discharges. An important connection is the equivalence between a quasiperiodically driven system and the Schr\"odinger equation for a particle in a related quasiperiodic potential, giving a correspondence between the localized states of the quantum problem with SNAs in the related dynamical system. In this review we discuss the main conceptual issues in the study of SNAs, including the different bifurcations or routes for the creation of such attractors, the methods of characterization, and the nature of dynamical transitions in quasiperiodically forced systems. The variation of the Lyapunov exponent, and the qualitative and quantitative aspects of its local fluctuation properties, has emerged as an important means of studying fractal attractors, and this analysis finds useful application here. The ubiquity of such attractors, in conjunction with their several unusual properties, suggest novel applications.Comment: 34 pages, 9 figures(5 figures are in ps format and four figures are in gif format

Predictability: a way to characterize Complexity

Different aspects of the predictability problem in dynamical systems are reviewed. The deep relation among Lyapunov exponents, Kolmogorov-Sinai entropy, Shannon entropy and algorithmic complexity is discussed. In particular, we emphasize how a characterization of the unpredictability of a system gives a measure of its complexity. Adopting this point of view, we review some developments in the characterization of the predictability of systems showing different kind of complexity: from low-dimensional systems to high-dimensional ones with spatio-temporal chaos and to fully developed turbulence. A special attention is devoted to finite-time and finite-resolution effects on predictability, which can be accounted with suitable generalization of the standard indicators. The problems involved in systems with intrinsic randomness is discussed, with emphasis on the important problems of distinguishing chaos from noise and of modeling the system. The characterization of irregular behavior in systems with discrete phase space is also considered.Comment: 142 Latex pgs. 41 included eps figures, submitted to Physics Reports. Related information at this http://axtnt2.phys.uniroma1.i

Coupled logistic maps and non-linear differential equations

We study the continuum space-time limit of a periodic one dimensional array of deterministic logistic maps coupled diffusively. First, we analyse this system in connection with a stochastic one dimensional Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) equation for confined surface fluctuations. We compare the large-scale and long-time behaviour of space-time correlations in both systems. The dynamic structure factor of the coupled map lattice (CML) of logistic units in its deep chaotic regime and the usual d=1 KPZ equation have a similar temporal stretched exponential relaxation. Conversely, the spatial scaling and, in particular, the size dependence are very different due to the intrinsic confinement of the fluctuations in the CML. We discuss the range of values of the non-linear parameter in the logistic map elements and the elastic coefficient coupling neighbours on the ring for which the connection with the KPZ-like equation holds. In the same spirit, we derive a continuum partial differential equation governing the evolution of the Lyapunov vector and we confirm that its space-time behaviour becomes the one of KPZ. Finally, we briefly discuss the interpretation of the continuum limit of the CML as a Fisher-Kolmogorov-Petrovsky-Piscounov (FKPP) non-linear diffusion equation with an additional KPZ non-linearity and the possibility of developing travelling wave configurations.Comment: 23 page

Extension of Lorenz Unpredictability

It is found that Lorenz systems can be unidirectionally coupled such that the chaos expands from the drive system. This is true if the response system is not chaotic, but admits a global attractor, an equilibrium or a cycle. The extension of sensitivity and period-doubling cascade are theoretically proved, and the appearance of cyclic chaos as well as intermittency in interconnected Lorenz systems are demonstrated. A possible connection of our results with the global weather unpredictability is provided.Comment: 32 pages, 13 figure

Irreversibility in quantum maps with decoherence

The Bolztmann echo (BE) is a measure of irreversibility and sensitivity to perturbations for non-isolated systems. Recently, different regimes of this quantity were described for chaotic systems. There is a perturbative regime where the BE decays with a rate given by the sum of a term depending on the accuracy with which the system is time-reversed and a term depending on the coupling between the system and the environment. In addition, a parameter independent regime, characterised by the classical Lyapunov exponent, is expected. In this paper we study the behaviour of the BE in hyperbolic maps that are in contact with different environments. We analyse the emergence of the different regimes and show that the behaviour of the decay rate of the BE is strongly dependent on the type of environment.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures