Information geometry theory of bifurcations? A covariant formulation.

The conventional local bifurcation theory (CBT) fails to present a complete characterization of the stability and general aspects of complex phenomena. After all, the CBT only explores the behavior of nonlinear dynamical systems in the neighborhood of their fixed points. Thus, this limitation imposes the necessity of non-trivial global techniques and lengthy numerical solutions. In this article, we present an attempt to overcome these problems by including the Fisher information theory in the study of bifurcations. Here, we investigate a Riemannian metrical structure of local and global bifurcations described in the context of dynamical systems. The introduced metric is based on the concept of information distance. We examine five contrasting models in detail: saddle-node, transcritical, supercritical pitchfork, subcritical pitchfork, and homoclinic bifurcations. We found that the metric imposes a curvature scalar R on the parameter space. Also, we discovered that R diverges to infinity while approaching bifurcation points. We demonstrate that the local stability conditions are recovered from the interpretations of the curvature R, while global stability is inferred from the character of the Fisher metric. The results are a clear improvement over those of the conventional theory.

Application of the Slater criteria to localize invariant tori in Hamiltonian mappings.

We investigate the localization of invariant spanning curves for a family of two-dimensional area-preserving mappings described by the dynamical variables I and θ by using Slater's criterion. The Slater theorem says there are three different return times for an irrational translation over a circle in a given interval. The returning time, which measures the number of iterations a map needs to return to a given periodic or quasi periodic region, has three responses along an invariant spanning curve. They are related to a continued fraction expansion used in the translation and obey the Fibonacci sequence. The rotation numbers for such curves are related to a noble number, leading to a devil's staircase structure. The behavior of the rotation number as a function of invariant spanning curves located by Slater's criterion resulted in an expression of a power law in which the absolute value of the exponent is equal to the control parameter γ that controls the speed of the divergence of θ in the limit the action I is sufficiently small.

Multiple Reflections for Classical Particles Moving under the Influence of a Time-Dependent Potential Well.

We study the dynamics of classical particles confined in a time-dependent potential well. The dynamics of each particle is described by a two-dimensional nonlinear discrete mapping for the variables energy en and phase ϕn of the periodic moving well. We obtain the phase space and show that it contains periodic islands, chaotic sea, and invariant spanning curves. We find the elliptic and hyperbolic fixed points and discuss a numerical method to obtain them. We study the dispersion of the initial conditions after a single iteration. This study allows finding regions where multiple reflections occur. Multiple reflections happen when a particle does not have enough energy to exit the potential well and is trapped inside it, suffering several reflections until it has enough energy to exit. We also show deformations in regions with multiple reflection, but the area remains constant when we change the control parameter NC. Finally, we show some structures that appear in the e0e1 plane by using density plots.

Diffusion phenomena in a mixed phase space.

We show that, in strongly chaotic dynamical systems, the average particle velocity can be calculated analytically by consideration of Brownian dynamics in a phase space, the method of images, and the use of the classical diffusion equation. The method is demonstrated on the simplified Fermi-Ulam accelerator model, which has a mixed phase space with chaotic seas, invariant tori, and Kolmogorov-Arnold-Moser islands. The calculated average velocities agree well with numerical simulations and with an earlier empirical theory.

Dynamical thermalization in time-dependent billiards.

Numerical experiments of the statistical evolution of an ensemble of noninteracting particles in a time-dependent billiard with inelastic collisions reveals the existence of three statistical regimes for the evolution of the speed ensemble, namely, diffusion plateau, normal growth/exponential decay, and stagnation. These regimes are linked numerically to the transition from Gauss-like to Boltzmann-like speed distributions. Furthermore, the different evolution regimes are obtained analytically through velocity-space diffusion analysis. From these calculations, the asymptotic root mean square of speed, initial plateau, and the growth/decay rates for an intermediate number of collisions are determined in terms of the system parameters. The analytical calculations match the numerical experiments and point to a dynamical mechanism for "thermalization," where inelastic collisions and a high-dimensional phase space lead to a bounded diffusion in the velocity space toward a stationary distribution function with a kind of "reservoir temperature" determined by the boundary oscillation amplitude and the restitution coefficient.

An investigation of the parameter space for a family of dissipative mappings.

The parameter plane investigation for a family of two-dimensional, nonlinear, and area contracting map is made. Several dynamical features in the system such as tangent, period-doubling, pitchfork, and cusp bifurcations were found and discussed together with cascades of period-adding, period-doubling, and the Feigeinbaum scenario. The presence of spring and saddle-area structures allow us to conclude that cubic homoclinic tangencies are present in the system. A set of complex sets such as streets with the same periodicity and the period-adding of spring-areas are observed in the parameter space of the mapping.

On the statistical and transport properties of a non-dissipative Fermi-Ulam model.

The transport and diffusion properties for the velocity of a Fermi-Ulam model were characterized using the decay rate of the survival probability. The system consists of an ensemble of non-interacting particles confined to move along and experience elastic collisions with two infinitely heavy walls. One is fixed, working as a returning mechanism of the colliding particles, while the other one moves periodically in time. The diffusion equation is solved, and the diffusion coefficient is numerically estimated by means of the averaged square velocity. Our results show remarkably good agreement of the theory and simulation for the chaotic sea below the first elliptic island in the phase space. From the decay rates of the survival probability, we obtained transport properties that can be extended to other nonlinear mappings, as well to billiard problems.

Dynamics of classical particles in oval or elliptic billiards with a dispersing mechanism.

Some dynamical properties for an oval billiard with a scatterer in its interior are studied. The dynamics consists of a classical particle colliding between an inner circle and an external boundary given by an oval, elliptical, or circle shapes, exploring for the first time some natural generalizations. The billiard is indeed a generalization of the annular billiard, which is of strong interest for understanding marginally unstable periodic orbits and their role in the boundary between regular and chaotic regions in both classical and quantum (including experimental) systems. For the oval billiard, which has a mixed phase space, the presence of an obstacle is an interesting addition. We demonstrate, with details, how to obtain the equations of the mapping, and the changes in the phase space are discussed. We study the linear stability of some fixed points and show both analytically and numerically the occurrence of direct and inverse parabolic bifurcations. Lyapunov exponents and generalized bifurcation diagrams are obtained. Moreover, histograms of the number of successive iterations for orbits that stay in a cusp are studied. These histograms are shown to be scaling invariant when changing the radius of the scatterer, and they have a power law slope around -3. The results here can be generalized to other kinds of external boundaries.

Scaling properties of the action in the Riemann-Liouville fractional standard map.

The Riemann-Liouville fractional standard map (RL-fSM) is a two-dimensional nonlinear map with memory given in action-angle variables (I,θ). The RL-fSM is parameterized by K and α∈(1,2], which control the strength of nonlinearity and the fractional order of the Riemann-Liouville derivative, respectively. In this work we present a scaling study of the average squared action 〈I^{2}〉 of the RL-fSM along strongly chaotic orbits, i.e., for K≫1. We observe two scenarios depending on the initial action I_{0}, I_{0}≪K or I_{0}≫K. However, we can show that 〈I^{2}〉/I_{0}^{2} is a universal function of the scaled discrete time nK^{2}/I_{0}^{2} (n being the nth iteration of the RL-fSM). In addition, we note that 〈I^{2}〉 is independent of α for K≫1. Analytical estimations support our numerical results.

Characterizing a transition from limited to unlimited diffusion in energy for a time-dependent stochastic billiard.

We explore Fermi acceleration in a stochastic oval billiard which shows unlimited to limited diffusion in energy when passing from the free to the dissipative case. We provide evidence for a transition from limited to unlimited energy growth taking place while detuning the corresponding restitution coefficient responsible for the degree of dissipation. A corresponding order parameter is suggested, and its susceptibility is shown to diverge at the critical point. We show that this order parameter is also be applicable to the periodically driven oval billiard and discuss the elementary excitation of the controlled diffusion process.

Scaling investigation for the dynamics of charged particles in an electric field accelerator.

Some dynamical properties of an ensemble of trajectories of individual (non-interacting) classical particles of mass m and charge q interacting with a time-dependent electric field and suffering the action of a constant magnetic field are studied. Depending on both the amplitude of oscillation of the electric field and the intensity of the magnetic field, the phase space of the model can either exhibit: (i) regular behavior or (ii) a mixed structure, with periodic islands of regular motion, chaotic seas characterized by positive Lyapunov exponents, and invariant Kolmogorov-Arnold-Moser curves preventing the particle to reach unbounded energy. We define an escape window in the chaotic sea and study the transport properties for chaotic orbits along the phase space by the use of scaling formalism. Our results show that the escape distribution and the survival probability obey homogeneous functions characterized by critical exponents and present universal behavior under appropriate scaling transformations. We show the survival probability decays exponentially for small iterations changing to a slower power law decay for large time, therefore, characterizing clearly the effects of stickiness of the islands and invariant tori. For the range of parameters used, our results show that the crossover from fast to slow decay obeys a power law and the behavior of survival orbits is scaling invariant.

Introduction to Focus Issue: statistical mechanics and billiard-type dynamical systems.

Dynamical systems of the billiard type are of fundamental importance for the description of numerous phenomena observed in many different fields of research, including statistical mechanics, Hamiltonian dynamics, nonlinear physics, and many others. This Focus Issue presents the recent progress in this area with contributions from the mathematical as well as physical stand point.

In-flight and collisional dissipation as a mechanism to suppress Fermi acceleration in a breathing Lorentz gas.

Some dynamical properties for a time dependent Lorentz gas considering both the dissipative and non dissipative dynamics are studied. The model is described by using a four-dimensional nonlinear mapping. For the conservative dynamics, scaling laws are obtained for the behavior of the average velocity for an ensemble of non interacting particles and the unlimited energy growth is confirmed. For the dissipative case, four different kinds of damping forces are considered namely: (i) restitution coefficient which makes the particle experiences a loss of energy upon collisions; and in-flight dissipation given by (ii) F=-ηV(2); (iii) F=-ηV(µ) with µ≠1 and µ≠2 and; (iv) F=-ηV, where η is the dissipation parameter. Extensive numerical simulations were made and our results confirm that the unlimited energy growth, observed for the conservative dynamics, is suppressed for the dissipative case. The behaviour of the average velocity is described using scaling arguments and classes of universalities are defined.

Decay of energy and suppression of Fermi acceleration in a dissipative driven stadium-like billiard.

The behavior of the average energy for an ensemble of non-interacting particles is studied using scaling arguments in a dissipative time-dependent stadium-like billiard. The dynamics of the system is described by a four dimensional nonlinear mapping. The dissipation is introduced via inelastic collisions between the particles and the moving boundary. For different combinations of initial velocities and damping coefficients, the long time dynamics of the particles leads them to reach different states of final energy and to visit different attractors, which change as the dissipation is varied. The decay of the average energy of the particles, which is observed for a large range of restitution coefficients and different initial velocities, is described using scaling arguments. Since this system exhibits unlimited energy growth in the absence of dissipation, our results for the dissipative case give support to the principle that Fermi acceleration seems not to be a robust phenomenon.

Shrimp-shape domains in a dissipative kicked rotator.

Some dynamical properties for a dissipative kicked rotator are studied. Our results show that when dissipation is taken into account a drastic change happens in the structure of the phase space in the sense that the mixed structure is modified and attracting fixed points and chaotic attractors are observed. A detailed numerical investigation in a two-dimensional parameter space based on the behavior of the Lyapunov exponent is considered. Our results show the existence of infinite self-similar shrimp-shaped structures corresponding to periodic attractors, embedded in a large region corresponding to the chaotic regime.

Dynamical aspects of a bouncing ball in a nonhomogeneous field.

We study some dynamical properties of a charged particle that moves in a nonhomogeneous electric field and collides against an oscillating platform. Depending on the values of parameters, the system presents (i) predominantly regular dynamics or (ii) structures of chaotic behavior in phase space conditioned to the initial conditions. The localization of the fixed points and their stability are carefully discussed. Average properties of the chaotic sea are investigated under a scaling approach. We show that the system belongs to the same universality class as the Fermi-Ulam model.

Investigation of pollen release by poricidal anthers using mathematical billiards.

Buzz pollination is described using a mathematical model considering a billiard approach. Applications to a rough morphology of a typical poricidal anther of a tomato flower (Solanum lycopersicum) experiencing vibrations applied by a bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) are made. The anther is described by a rectangular billiard with a pore on its tip while the borders are perturbed by specific oscillations according to the vibrational properties of the bumblebee. Pollen grains are considered as noninteracting particles that can escape through the pore. Our results not only recover some observed data but also provide a possible answer to an open problem involving buzz pollination.

Leaking of orbits from the phase space of the dissipative discontinuous standard mapping.

We investigate the escape of particles from the phase space produced by a two-dimensional, nonlinear and discontinuous, area-contracting map. The mapping, given in action-angle variables, is parametrized by K and γ which control the strength of nonlinearity and dissipation, respectively. We focus on two dynamical regimes, K<1 and K≥1, known as slow and quasilinear diffusion regimes, respectively, for the area-preserving version of the map (i.e., when γ=0). When a hole of hight h is introduced in the action axis we find both the histogram of escape times P_{E}(n) and the survival probability P_{S}(n) of particles to be scale invariant, with the typical escape time n_{typ}=exp〈lnn〉; that is, both P_{E}(n/n_{typ}) and P_{S}(n/n_{typ}) define universal functions. Moreover, for γ≪1, we show that n_{typ} is proportional to h^{2}/D, where D is the diffusion coefficient of the corresponding area-preserving map that in turn is proportional to K^{5/2} and K^{2} in the slow and the quasilinear diffusion regimes, respectively.

Suppressing Fermi acceleration in a driven elliptical billiard.

We study dynamical properties of an ensemble of noninteracting particles in a time-dependent elliptical-like billiard. It was recently shown [Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 014103 (2008)] that for the nondissipative dynamics, the particle experiences unlimited energy growth. Here we show that inelastic collisions suppress Fermi acceleration in a driven elliptical-like billiard. This suppression is yet another indication that Fermi acceleration is not a structurally stable phenomenon.

Instantaneous frequencies in the Kuramoto model.

Using the main results of the Kuramoto theory of globally coupled phase oscillators combined with methods from probability and generalized function theory in a geometric analysis, we extend Kuramoto's results and obtain a mathematical description of the instantaneous frequency (phase-velocity) distribution. Our result is validated against numerical simulations, and we illustrate it in cases in which the natural frequencies have normal and Beta distributions. In both cases, we vary the coupling strength and compare systematically the distribution of time-averaged frequencies (a known result of Kuramoto theory) to that of instantaneous frequencies, focusing on their qualitative differences near the synchronized frequency and in their tails. For a class of natural frequency distributions with power-law tails, which includes the Cauchy-Lorentz distribution, we analyze the tails of the instantaneous frequency distribution by means of an asymptotic formula obtained from a power-series expansion.