A method of finding relative periodic orbits for differential equations with
continuous symmetries is described and its utility demonstrated by computing
relative periodic solutions for the one-dimensional complex Ginzburg-Landau
equation (CGLE) with periodic boundary conditions. A relative periodic solution
is a solution that is periodic in time, up to a transformation by an element of
the equation's symmetry group. With the method used, relative periodic
solutions are represented by a space-time Fourier series modified to include
the symmetry group element and are sought as solutions to a system of nonlinear
algebraic equations for the Fourier coefficients, group element, and time
period. The 77 relative periodic solutions found for the CGLE exhibit a wide
variety of temporal dynamics, with the sum of their positive Lyapunov exponents
varying from 5.19 to 60.35 and their unstable dimensions from 3 to 8.
Preliminary work indicates that weighted averages over the collection of
relative periodic solutions accurately approximate the value of several
functionals on typical trajectories.Comment: 32 pages, 12 figure