Critical homoclinic orbits lead to snap-back repellers

When nondegenerate homoclinic orbits to an expanding fixed point of a map f:X→X,X⊆Rⁿ, exist, the point is called a snap-back repeller. It is known that the relevance of a snap-back repeller (in its original definition) is due to the fact that it implies the existence of an invariant set on which the map is chaotic. However, when does the first homoclinic orbit appear? When can other homoclinic explosions, i.e., appearance of infinitely many new homoclinic orbits, occur? As noticed by many authors, these problems are still open. In this work we characterize these bifurcations, for any kind of map, smooth or piecewise smooth, continuous or discontinuous, defined in a bounded or unbounded closed set. We define a noncritical homoclinic orbit and a homoclinic orbit of an expanding fixed point is structurally stable iff it is noncritical. That is, only critical homoclinic orbits are responsible for the homoclinic explosions. The possible kinds of critical homoclinic orbits will be also investigated, as well as their dynamic role.     

Border collision bifurcations and chaotic sets in a two-dimensional piecewise linear map

A two-dimensional piecewise linear continuous model is analyzed. It reflects the dynamics occurring in a circuit proposed as chaos generator, in a simplified case. The parameter space is investigated in order to classify completely regions of existence of stable cycles, and regions associated with chaotic behaviors. The border collision bifurcation curves are analytically detected, as well as the degenerate flip bifurcations of k-cycles and the homoclinic bifurcations occurring in cyclic chaotic regions leading to chaos in one-piece.     

Bifurcation and chaos near sliding homoclinics

We study the chaotic behaviour of a time dependent perturbation of a discontinuous differential equation whose unperturbed part has a sliding homoclinic orbit that is a solution homoclinic to a hyperbolic fixed point with a part belonging to a discontinuity surface. We assume the time dependent perturbation satisfies a kind of recurrence condition which is satisfied by almost periodic perturbations. Following a functional analytic approach we construct a Melnikov-like function M(α) in such a way that if M(α) has a simple zero at some point, then the system has solutions that behave chaotically. Applications of this result to quasi-periodic systems are also given.     

Effect of random noise on chaotic motion of a particle in a ϕ6 potential

The chaotic behaviors of a particle in a triple well ϕ⁶ potential possessing both homoclinic and heteroclinic orbits under harmonic and Gaussian white noise excitations are discussed in detail. Following Melnikov theory, conditions for the existence of transverse intersection on the surface of homoclinic or heteroclinic orbits for triple potential well case are derived, which are complemented by the numerical simulations from which we show the bifurcation surfaces and the fractality of the basins of attraction. The results reveal that the threshold amplitude of harmonic excitation for onset of chaos will move downwards as the noise intensity increases, which is further verified by the top Lyapunov exponents of the original system. Thus the larger the noise intensity results in the more possible chaotic domain in parameter space. The effect of noise on Poincare maps is also investigated.     

Smooth diffeomorphisms of the plane with stable periodic points in a neighborhood of a homoclinic point

We consider self-diffeomorphisms of the plane of the class C ^r (1 ?? r < ??) with a fixed hyperbolic point and a nontransversal point homoclinic to it. We present a method for constructing a set of diffeomorphisms for which the neighborhood of a homoclinic point contains countably many stable periodic points with characteristic exponents bounded away from zero.     

Effect of bounded noise on the chaotic motion of a Duffing Van der pol oscillator in a ϕ6 potential

This paper investigates the chaotic behavior of an extended Duffing Van der pol oscillator in a ϕ⁶ potential under additive harmonic and bounded noise excitations for a specific parameter choice. From Melnikov theorem, we obtain the conditions for the existence of homoclinic or heteroclinic bifurcation in the case of the ϕ⁶ potential is bounded, which are complemented by the numerical simulations from which we illustrate the bifurcation surfaces and the fractality of the basins of attraction. The results show that the threshold amplitude of bounded noise for onset of chaos will move upwards as the noise intensity increases, which is further validated by the top Lyapunov exponents of the original system. Thus the larger the noise intensity results in the less possible chaotic domain in parameter space. The effect of bounded noise on Poincare maps is also investigated.     

Chaotic Motion Generated by Delayed Negative Feedback Part II: Construction of Nonlinearities

We construct a smooth function g* : IR ? IR with such that the equation has a slowly oscillating periodic solution y, and a slowly oscillating solution z* whose phase curve is homoclinic with respect to the orbit o of y in the space C = C⁰([1,0],IR). For an associated Poincaré map we obtain a transversal homoclinic loop. The proof of transversality employs a criterion which uses oscillation properties of solutions of variational equations. The main result is that the trajectories (ψn)^∞_-∞ of the Poincaré map in a neighbourhood of the homoclinic loop form a hyperbolic set on which the motion is chaotic.     

On bi-Lyapunov stable homoclinic classes

For a C ¹ generic diffeomorphism if a bi-Lyapunov stable homoclinic class is homogeneous then it does not have weak eigenvalues. Using this, we show that such homoclinic classes are hyperbolic if it has one of the following properties: shadowing, specification or limit shadowing.     

Chaos in the dynamics generated by sequences of maps, with applications to chaotic advection in flows with aperiodic time dependence

In this paper we develop analytical techniques for proving the existence of chaotic dynamics in systems where the dynamics is generated by infinite sequences of maps. These are generalizations of the Conley-Moser conditions that are used to show that a (single) map has an invariant Cantor set on which it is topologically conjugate to a subshift on the space of symbol sequences. The motivation for developing these methods is to apply them to the study of chaotic advection in fluid flows arising from velocity fields with aperiodic time dependence, and we show how dynamics generated by infinite sequences of maps arises naturally in that setting. Our methods do not require the existence of a homoclinic orbit in order to conclude the existence of chaotic dynamics. This is important for the class of fluid mechanical examples considered since one cannot readily identify a homoclinic orbit from the structure of the equations.¶We study three specific fluid mechanical examples: the Aref blinking vortex flow, Samelson's tidal advection model, and Min's rollup-merge map that models kinematics in the mixing layer. Each of these flows is modelled as a type of "blinking flow", which mathematically has the form of a linked twist map, or an infinite sequence of linked twist maps. We show that the nature of these blinking flows is such that it is possible to have a variety of "patches" of chaos in the flow corresponding to different length and time scales.     

Snapback repellers and homoclinic orbits for multi-dimensional maps

Marotto extended Li–Yorke?s theorem on chaos from one-dimension to multi-dimension through introducing the notion of snapback repeller in 1978. Due to a technical flaw, he redefined snapback repeller in 2005 to validate this theorem. This presentation provides two methodologies to facilitate the application of Marotto?s theorem. The first one is to estimate the radius of repelling neighborhood for a repelling fixed point. This estimation is of essential and practical significance as combined with numerical computations of snapback points. Secondly, we propose a sequential graphic-iteration scheme to construct homoclinic orbit for a repeller. This construction allows us to track the homoclinic orbit. Applications of the present methodologies with numerical computation to a chaotic neural network and a predator–prey model are demonstrated.     

Resonance bifurcation from homoclinic cycles

Differential equations that are equivariant under the action of a finite group can possess robust homoclinic cycles that can moreover be asymptotically stable. For differential equations in R⁴ there exists a classification of different robust homoclinic cycles for which moreover eigenvalue conditions for asymptotic stability are known. We study resonance bifurcations that destroy the asymptotic stability of robust ‘simple homoclinic cycles’ in four-dimensional differential equations. We establish that typically a periodic trajectory near the cycle is created, asymptotically stable in the supercritical case.     

Transverse intersections between invariant manifolds of doubly hyperbolic invariant tori, via the Poincaré-Mel’nikov method

We consider a perturbation of an integrable Hamiltonian system having an equilibrium point of elliptic-hyperbolic type, having a homoclinic orbit. More precisely, we consider an (n + 2)-degree-of-freedom near integrable Hamiltonian with n centers and 2 saddles, and assume that the homoclinic orbit is preserved under the perturbation. On the center manifold near the equilibrium, there is a Cantorian family of hyperbolic KAM tori, and we study the homoclinic intersections between the stable and unstable manifolds associated to such tori. We establish that, in general, the manifolds intersect along transverse homoclinic orbits. In a more concrete model, such homoclinic orbits can be detected, in a first approximation, from nondegenerate critical points of a Mel’nikov potential. We provide bounds for the number of transverse homoclinic orbits using that, in general, the potential will be a Morse function (which gives a lower bound) and can be approximated by a trigonometric polynomial (which gives an upper bound).     

Homoclinic tangencies versus uniform hyperbolicity for conservative 3-flows

We prove that a volume-preserving three-dimensional flow can be C¹-approximated by a volume-preserving Anosov flow or else by another volume-preserving flow exhibiting a homoclinic tangency. This proves the conjecture of Palis for conservative 3-flows and with respect to the C¹-topology.     

Chaotic Behavior in Slowly Varying Systems of Nonlinear Differential Equations

A technique is developed to find parameter regions of chaotic behavior in certain systems of nonlinear differential equations with slowly varying periodic coefficients. The technique combines previous results on how to find branches of periodic solutions which terminate with a homoclinic orbit and results on how to find chaotic trajectories in the neighborhood of homoclinic trajectories of the autonomous system. The technique is applied to the continuous stirred tank reaction A → B, for which it is shown that a slowly varying periodic flow rate can yield aperiodic temperature fluctuations.     

Partial hyperbolicity far from homoclinic bifurcations

We prove that any diffeomorphism of a compact manifold can be C¹-approximated by a diffeomorphism which exhibits a homoclinic bifurcation (a homoclinic tangency or a heterodimensional cycle) or by a diffeomorphism which is partially hyperbolic (its chain-recurrent set splits into partially hyperbolic pieces whose centre bundles have dimensions less or equal to two). We also study in a more systematic way the central models introduced in Crovisier (in press) [10].     

Quadratic Volume-Preserving Maps: (Un)stable Manifolds, Hyperbolic Dynamics, and Vortex-Bubble Bifurcations

We implement a semi-analytic scheme for numerically computing high order polynomial approximations of the stable and unstable manifolds associated with the fixed points of the normal form for the family of quadratic volume-preserving diffeomorphisms with quadratic inverse. We use this numerical scheme to study some hyperbolic dynamics associated with an invariant structure called a vortex bubble. The vortex bubble, when present in the system, is the dominant feature in the phase space of the quadratic family, as it encloses all invariant dynamics. Our study focuses on visualizing qualitative features of the vortex bubble such as bifurcations in its geometry, the geometry of some three-dimensional homoclinic tangles associated with the bubble, and the “quasi-capture” of homoclinic orbits by neighboring fixed points. Throughout, we couple our results with previous qualitative numerical studies of the elliptic dynamics within the vortex bubble of the quadratic family.     

From bi-stability to chaotic oscillations in a macroeconomic model

In this paper a discrete-time economic model is considered where the savings are proportional to income and the investment demand depends on the difference between the current income and its exogenously assumed equilibrium level, through a nonlinear S-shaped increasing function. The model can be ultimately reduced to a two-dimensional discrete dynamical system in income and capital, whose time evolution is “driven” by a family of two-dimensional maps of triangular type. These particular two-dimensional maps have the peculiarity that one of their components (the one driving the income evolution in the model at study) appears to be uncoupled from the other, i.e., an independent one-dimensional map. The structure of such maps allows one to completely understand the forward dynamics, i.e., the asymptotic dynamic behavior, starting from the properties of the associated one-dimensional map (a bimodal one in our model). The equilibrium points of the map are determined, and the influence of the main parameters (such as the propensity to save and the firms' speed of adjustment to the excess demand) on the local stability of the equilibria is studied. More important, the paper analyzes how changes in the parameters' values modify both the asymptotic dynamics of the system and the structure of the basins of the different and often coexisting attractors in the phase-plane. Finally, a particular “global” (homoclinic) bifurcation is illustrated, occurring for sufficiently high values of the firms' adjustment parameter and causing the switching from a situation of bi-stability (coexistence of two stable equilibria, or attracting sets of different nature) to a regime characterized by wide chaotic oscillations of income and capital around their exogenously assumed equilibrium levels.     

Transitions from bursting to spiking due to depolarizing current in the Chay neuronal model

Distinct transitions of firing activities from bursting to spiking induced by the depolarizing current I are explored near the Hopf bifurcations in the Chay neuronal system. The period-1 “circle/homoclinic” bursting at one rest state makes a transition slowly to repetitive spiking with the parameter I increasing. However, the “Hopf/homoclinic” bursting via a “fold/homoclinic” hysteresis loop at another rest state may transit to continuous spiking abruptly by increasing I.     

On maximal transitive sets of generic diffeomorphisms

Abstract. – We construct locally generic C¹-diffeomorphisms of 3-manifolds with maximal transitive Cantor sets without periodic points. The locally generic diffeomorphisms constructed also exhibit strongly pathological features generalizing the Newhouse phenomenon (coexistence of infinitely many sinks or sources). Two of these features are: coexistence of infinitely many nontrivial (hyperbolic and nonhyperbolic) attractors and repellors, and coexistence of infinitely many nontrivial (nonhyperbolic) homoclinic classes.?We prove that these phenomena are associated to the existence of a homoclinic class H(P,f) with two specific properties:?– in a C¹-robust way, the homoclinic class H(P,f) does not admit any dominated splitting,?– there is a periodic point P^′ homoclinically related to P such that the Jacobians of P^′ and P are greater than and less than one, respectively. Manuscrit reĉu le 13 décembre 2000. RID="*" ID="*"This paper was partially supported by CNPq, Faperj, and Pronex Dynamical Systems (Brazil), PICS-CNRS and the Agreement Brazil-France in Mathematics. The authors acknowledge to IMPA and Laboratoire de Topologie, Université de Bourgogne, for the warm hospitality during their visits while preparing this paper. We also acknowledge M.-C. Arnaud, F. Béguin and the referees for their comments on the first version of this paper.     

Homoclinic bifurcations at the onset of pulse self-replication

We establish a series of properties of symmetric, N-pulse, homoclinic solutions of the reduced Gray-Scott system: u^″=uv², v^″=v−uv², which play a pivotal role in questions concerning the existence and self-replication of pulse solutions of the full Gray-Scott model. Specifically, we establish the existence, and study properties, of solution branches in the (α,β)-plane that represent multi-pulse homoclinic orbits, where α and β are the central values of u(x) and v(x), respectively. We prove bounds for these solution branches, study their behavior as α→∞, and establish a series of geometric properties of these branches which are valid throughout the (α,β)-plane. We also establish qualitative properties of multi-pulse solutions and study how they bifurcate, i.e., how they change along the solution branches.