Chaotic Dynamics

Many quantum systems may have the same classical limit. We argue that in the classical limit their traces do not necessarily converge one to another. The trace formula allows to express quantum traces by means of classical quantities as sums over periodic orbits of the classical system. To explain the lack of convergence of the traces we need the quantum corrections to the classical actions of periodic orbits. The four versions of the quantum baker map on the sphere serve as an illustration of this problem.

Passive scalar transport in a spatially-extended background of roll convection is considered in the time-periodic regime. The latter arises due to the even oscillatory instability of the cell lateral boundary, here accounted for by sinusoidal oscillations of frequency ω . By varying the latter parameter, the strength of anticorrelated regions of the velocity field can be controled and the conditions under which either an enhancement or a reduction of transport takes place can be created. Such two ubiquitous regimes are triggered by a small-scale(random) velocity field superimposed to the recirculating background. The crucial point is played by the dependence of Lagrangian trajectories on the statistical properties of the small-scale velocity field, e.g. its correlation time or its energy.

Recent work has identified nonlinear deterministic structure in neuronal dynamics using periodic orbit theory. Troublesome in this work were the significant periods of time where no periodic orbits were extracted - "dynamically dark" regions. Tests for periodic orbit structure typically require that the underlying dynamics are differentiable. Since continuity of a mathematical function is a necessary but insufficient condition for differentiability, regions of observed differentiability should be fully contained within regions of continuity. We here verify that this fundamental mathematical principle is reflected in observations from mammalian neuronal activity. First, we introduce a null Jacobian transformation to verify the observation of differentiable dynamics when periodic orbits are extracted. Second, we show that a less restrictive test for deterministic structure requiring only continuity demonstrates widespread nonlinear deterministic structure only partially appreciated with previous approaches.

We have developed a light scattering technique based on differential measurement and polarization (differential light scattering, DLS) capable in principle of retrieving timing information with picosecond resolution without the need for fast electronics. DLS was applied to sonoluminescence, duplicating known results (sharp turnaround, self-similar collapse); the resolution was limited by intensity noise to about 0.5 ns. Preliminary evidence indicates a smooth turnaround on a time scale of a few hundred picoseconds, and suggests the existence of subnanosecond features within a few nanoseconds of the turnaround.

We derive contributions to the trace formula for the spectral density accounting for the role of diffractive orbits in two-dimensional polygonal billiards. In polygons, diffraction typically occurs at the boundary of a family of trajectories. In this case the first diffractive correction to the contribution of the family to the periodic orbit expansion is of order of the one of an isolated orbit, and gives the first ℏ − − √ correction to the leading semi-classical term. For treating these corrections Keller's geometrical theory of diffraction is inadequate and we develop an alternative approximation based on Kirchhoff's theory. Numerical checks show that our procedure allows to reduce the typical semi-classical error by about two orders of magnitude. The method permits to treat the related problem of flux-line diffraction with the same degree of accuracy.

Utilization of chaotic signals for covert communications remains a very promising practical application. Multiple studies indicated that the major shortcoming of recently proposed chaos-based communication schemes is their susceptibility to noise and distortions in communication channels. In this talk we discuss a new approach to communication with chaotic signals, which demonstrates good performance in the presence of channel distortions. This communication scheme is based upon chaotic signals in the form of pulse trains where intervals between the pulses are determined by chaotic dynamics of a pulse generator. The pulse train with chaotic interpulse intervals is used as a carrier. Binary information is modulated onto this carrier by the pulse position modulation method, such that each pulse is either left unchanged or delayed by a certain time, depending on whether ``0'' or ``1'' is transmitted. By synchronizing the receiver to the chaotic pulse train we can anticipate the timing of pulses corresponding to ``0'' and ``1'' and thus can decode the transmitted information. Based on the results of theoretical and experimental studies we shall discuss the basic design principles for the chaotic pulse generator, its synchronization, and the performance of the chaotic pulse communication scheme in the presence of channel noise and filtering.

We explore the utility of the recently proposed alpha equations in providing a subgrid model for fluid turbulence. Our principal results are comparisons of direct numerical simulations of fluid turbulence using several values of the parameter alpha, including the limiting case where the Navier-Stokes equations are recovered. Our studies show that the large scale features, including statistics and structures, are preserved by the alpha models, even at coarser resolutions where the fine scales are not fully resolved. We also describe the differences that appear in simulations. We provide a summary of the principal features of the alpha equations, and offer some explanation of the effectiveness of these equations used as a subgrid model for three-dimensional fluid turbulence.

Intersection angles of stable and unstable manifolds for area preserving mappings are numerically calculated by extremely accurate computation. With the use of multiprecision library the values of angle as small as 10^{-400} are obtained. The singular dependence of the angle on the magnitude of hyperbolicity is confirmed. The power-law type prefactor with Stokes constant is also in good agreement with analytical estimation.

We consider the classical dynamics of a particle in a one-dimensional space-periodic potential U(X) = U(X+2\pi) under the influence of a time-periodic space-homogeneous external field E(t)=E(t+T). If E(t) is neither symmetric function of t nor antisymmetric under time shifts E(t±T/2)≠−E(t) , an ensemble of trajectories with zero current at t=0 yields a nonzero finite current as t→∞ . We explain this effect using symmetry considerations and perturbation theory. Finally we add dissipation (friction) and demonstrate that the resulting set of attractors keeps the broken symmetry property in the basins of attraction and leads to directed currents as well.

The performance of a number of different measures of nonlinearity in a time series is compared numerically. Their power to distinguish noisy chaotic data from linear stochastic surrogates is determined by Monte Carlo simulation for a number of typical data problems. The main result is that the ratings of the different measures vary from example to example. It seems therefore preferable to use an algorithm with good overall performance, that is, higher order autocorrelations or nonlinear prediction errors.