Can We Obtain a Fractional Lorenz System from a Physical Problem？

A new fractional-order Lorenz system is obtained from the convection of fractional Maxwell fluids in a circular loop. This is the first fractional-order dynamical system derived from an actual physical problem, and rich dynamical properties are observed. In the case of short fluid relaxation time, with the decreasing effective dimension ∑, we find a critical value of the effective dimension ∑cr1, at which the solution of the system undergoes a transition from the chaotic motion to the periodic motion and another critical value ∑cr2（∑cr2 〈∑cr1） at which the regular dynamics of the system returns to the chaotic one. In the case of long relaxation time, the phenomenon of overstability is observed and the decrease of ∑ is found to delay the onset of it.