Symmetry properties of periodic orbits extracted from scattering data

Discrete symmetries of a system are reflected in the properties of the shortest periodic orbits. By applying a recent method to extract these from the scaling of the fractal structure in scattering functions, we show how the symmetries can be extracted from scattering data simultaneously with the periods and the Lyapunov exponents. We pay particular attention to the change of scattering data under a small symmetry breaking.     

Measuring scars of periodic orbits

The phenomenon of periodic orbit scarring of eigenstates of classically chaotic systems is attracting increasing attention. Scarring is one of the most important "corrections" to the ideal random eigenstates suggested by random matrix theory. This paper discusses measures of scars and in so doing also tries to clarify the concepts and effects of eigenfunction scarring. We propose a universal scar measure which takes into account an entire periodic orbit and the linearized dynamics in its vicinity. This measure is tuned to pick out those structures which are induced in quantum eigenstates by unstable periodic orbits and their manifolds. It gives enhanced scarring strength as measured by eigenstate overlaps and inverse participation ratios, especially for longer orbits. We also discuss off-resonance scars which appear naturally on either side of an unstable periodic orbit.     

Stability of minimal periodic orbits

Symplectic twist maps are obtained from a Lagrangian variational principle. It is well known that nondegenerate minima of the action correspond to hyperbolic orbits of the map when the twist is negative definite and the map is two-dimensional. We show that for more than two dimensions, periodic orbits with minimal action in symplectic twist maps with negative definite twist are not necessarily hyperbolic. In the proof we show that in the neighborhood of a minimal periodic orbit of period n, the nth iterate of the map is again a twist map. This is true even though in general the composition of twist maps is not a twist map.     

Dynamical tracking of unstable periodic orbits

Tracking unstable periodic orbits and its stabilization by large periodic modulation of a control parameter are studied numerically in the Hénon map and laser equations. Some important scaling relations linking the tracking range to the modulation amplitude and frequency are deduced. The results obtained with both models are compared. Experimental realization of dynamical tracking is demonstrated in a loss-driven CO₂ laser where cavity detuning or losses are periodically modulated.     

Recurrence plots and unstable periodic orbits

A recurrence plot is a two-dimensional visualization technique for sequential data. These plots are useful in that they bring out correlations at all scales in a manner that is obvious to the human eye, but their rich geometric structure can make them hard to interpret. In this paper, we suggest that the unstable periodic orbits embedded in a chaotic attractor are a useful basis set for the geometry of a recurrence plot of those data. This provides not only a simple way to locate unstable periodic orbits in chaotic time-series data, but also a potentially effective way to use a recurrence plot to identify a dynamical system. (c) 2002 American Institute of Physics.     

Statistical properties of lorentz gas with periodic configuration of scatterers

In our previous paper Markov partitions for some classes of dispersed billiards were constructed. Using these partitions we estimate the decay of velocity auto-correlation function and prove the central limit theorem of probability theory and Donsker's Invariance Principle for Lorentz Gas with periodic configuration of scatterers.     

Statistical properties of two-dimensional periodic Lorentz gas with infinite horizon

We study the asymptotic statistical behavior of the 2-dimensional periodic Lorentz gas with an infinite horizon. We consider a particle moving freely in the plane with elastic reflections from a periodic set of fixed convex scatterers. We assume that the initial position of the particle in the phase space is random with uniform distribution with respect to the Liouville measure of the periodic problem. We are interested in the asymptotic statistical behavior of the particle displacement in the plane as the timet goes to infinity. We assume that the particle horizon is infinite, which means that the length of free motion of the particle is unbounded. Then we show that under some natural assumptions on the free motion vector autocorrelation function, the limit distribution of the particle displacement in the plane is Gaussian, but the normalization factor is (t logt)^1/2 and nott ^1/2 as in the classical case. We find the covariance matrix of the limit distribution.     

Statistical properties of the periodic Lorentz gas. Multidimensional case

In 1981 Bunimovich and Sinai established the statistical properties of the planar periodic Lorentz gas with finite horizon. Our aim is to extend their theory to the multidimensional Lorentz gas. In that case the Markov partitions of the Bunimovich-Sinai type, the main tool of their theory, are not available. We use a crude approximation to such partitions, which we call Markov sieves. Their construction in many dimensions is essentially different from that in two dimensions; it requires more routine calculations and intricate arguments. We try to avoid technical details and outline the construction of the Markov sieves in mostly qualitative, heuristic terms, hoping to carry out our plan in full detail elsewhere. Modulo that construction, our proofs are conclusive. In the end, we obtain a stretched-exponential bound for the decay of correlations, the central limit theorem, and Donsker's Invariance Principle for multidimensional periodic Lorentz gases with finite horizon.     

Degenerate periodic orbits and homoclinic torus bifurcation

A one-parameter family of periodic orbits with frequency omega and energy E of an autonomous Hamiltonian system is degenerate when E'(omega) = 0. In this paper, new features of the nonlinear bifurcation near this degeneracy are identified. A new normal form is found where the coefficient of the nonlinear term is determined by the curvature of the energy-frequency map. An important property of the bifurcating "homoclinic torus" is the homoclinic angle and a new asymptotic formula for it is derived. The theory is constructive, and so is useful for physical applications and in numerics.     

Reducing or enhancing chaos using periodic orbits

A method to reduce or enhance chaos in Hamiltonian flows with two degrees of freedom is discussed. This method is based on finding a suitable perturbation of the system such that the stability of a set of periodic orbits changes (local bifurcations). Depending on the values of the residues, reflecting their linear stability properties, a set of invariant tori is destroyed or created in the neighborhood of the chosen periodic orbits. An application on a paradigmatic system, a forced pendulum, illustrates the method.