Output functions and fractal dimensions in dynamical systems

We present a novel method for the calculation of the fractal dimension of boundaries in dynamical systems, which is in many cases many orders of magnitude more efficient than the uncertainty method. We call it the Output Function Evaluation (OFE) method. The OFE method is based on an efficient scheme for computing output functions, such as the escape time, on a one-dimensional portion of the phase space. We show analytically that the OFE method is much more efficient than the uncertainty method for boundaries with $D<0.5$, where $D$ is the dimension of the intersection of the boundary with a one-dimensional manifold. We apply the OFE method to a scattering system, and compare it to the uncertainty method. We use the OFE method to study the behavior of the fractal dimension as the system's dynamics undergoes a topological transition.Comment: Uses REVTEX; to be published in Phys. Rev. Let

Variation of the Dependence of the Transient Process Duration on the Initial Conditions in Systems with Discrete Time

Dependence of the transient process duration on the initial conditions is considered in one- and two-dimensional systems with discrete time, representing a logistic map and the Eno map, respectively.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Analog to Digital Conversion in Physical Measurements

There exist measuring devices where an analog input is converted into a digital output. Such converters can have a nonlinear internal dynamics. We show how measurements with such converting devices can be understood using concepts from symbolic dynamics. Our approach is based on a nonlinear one-to-one mapping between the analog input and the digital output of the device. We analyze the Bernoulli shift and the tent map which are realized in specific analog/digital converters. Furthermore, we discuss the sources of errors that are inevitable in physical realizations of such systems and suggest methods for error reduction.Comment: 9 pages in LATEX, 4 figures in ps.; submitted to 'Chaos, Solitons & Fractals

Multistability and nonsmooth bifurcations in the quasiperiodically forced circle map

It is well-known that the dynamics of the Arnold circle map is phase-locked in regions of the parameter space called Arnold tongues. If the map is invertible, the only possible dynamics is either quasiperiodic motion, or phase-locked behavior with a unique attracting periodic orbit. Under the influence of quasiperiodic forcing the dynamics of the map changes dramatically. Inside the Arnold tongues open regions of multistability exist, and the parameter dependency of the dynamics becomes rather complex. This paper discusses the bifurcation structure inside the Arnold tongue with zero rotation number and includes a study of nonsmooth bifurcations that happen for large nonlinearity in the region with strange nonchaotic attractors.Comment: 25 pages, 22 colored figures in reduced quality, submitted to Int. J. of Bifurcation and Chaos, a supplementary website (http://www.mpipks-dresden.mpg.de/eprint/jwiersig/0004003/) is provide

Dynamics towards the Feigenbaum attractor

We expose at a previously unknown level of detail the features of the dynamics of trajectories that either evolve towards the Feigenbaum attractor or are captured by its matching repellor. Amongst these features are the following: i) The set of preimages of the attractor and of the repellor are embedded (dense) into each other. ii) The preimage layout is obtained as the limiting form of the rank structure of the fractal boundaries between attractor and repellor positions for the family of supercycle attractors. iii) The joint set of preimages for each case form an infinite number of families of well-defined phase-space gaps in the attractor or in the repellor. iv) The gaps in each of these families can be ordered with decreasing width in accord to power laws and are seen to appear sequentially in the dynamics generated by uniform distributions of initial conditions. v) The power law with log-periodic modulation associated to the rate of approach of trajectories towards the attractor (and to the repellor) is explained in terms of the progression of gap formation. vi) The relationship between the law of rate of convergence to the attractor and the inexhaustible hierarchy feature of the preimage structure is elucidated.Comment: 8 pages, 12 figure

Collective Almost Synchronization in Complex Networks

This work introduces the phenomenon of Collective Almost Synchronization (CAS), which describes a universal way of how patterns can appear in complex networks even for small coupling strengths. The CAS phenomenon appears due to the existence of an approximately constant local mean field and is characterized by having nodes with trajectories evolving around periodic stable orbits. Common notion based on statistical knowledge would lead one to interpret the appearance of a local constant mean field as a consequence of the fact that the behavior of each node is not correlated to the behaviors of the others. Contrary to this common notion, we show that various well known weaker forms of synchronization (almost, time-lag, phase synchronization, and generalized synchronization) appear as a result of the onset of an almost constant local mean field. If the memory is formed in a brain by minimising the coupling strength among neurons and maximising the number of possible patterns, then the CAS phenomenon is a plausible explanation for it.Comment: 3 figure

Emerging attractors and the transition from dissipative to conservative dynamics

The topological structure of basin boundaries plays a fundamental role in the sensitivity to the initial conditions in chaotic dynamical systems. Herewith we present a study on the dynamics of dissipative systems close to the Hamiltonian limit, emphasising the increasing number of periodic attractors and on the structural changes in their basin boundaries as the dissipation approaches zero. We show numerically that a power law with nontrivial exponent describes the growth of the total number of periodic attractors as the damping is decreased. We also establish that for small scales the dynamics is governed by \emph{effective} dynamical invariants, whose measure depends not only on the region of the phase space, but also on the scale under consideration. Therefore, our results show that the concept of effective invariants is also relevant for dissipative systems.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures. Accepted and in press for PR

Periodicity of chaotic trajectories in realizations of finite computer precisions and its implication in chaos communications

Fundamental problems of periodicity and transient process to periodicity of chaotic trajectories in computer realization with finite computation precision is investigated by taking single and coupled Logistic maps as examples. Empirical power law relations of the period and transient iterations with the computation precisions and the sizes of coupled systems are obtained. For each computation we always find, by randomly choosing initial conditions, a single dominant periodic trajectory which is realized with major portion of probability. These understandings are useful for possible applications of chaos, e.g., chaotic cryptography in secure communication.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, 2 table

Chaotic features in classical scattering processes between ions and atoms

A numerical study has been done of collisions between protons and hydrogen atoms, treated as classical particles, at low impact velocities. The presence of chaos has been looked for by investigating the processes with standard techniques of the chaotic--scattering theory. The evidence of a sharp transition from nearly regular scattering to fully developed chaos has been found at the lower velocities.Comment: 10 pages, Latex, 3 figures (available upon request to the authors), submitted to Journal of Physics