Questions tagged [ds.dynamical-systems]
Dynamics of flows and maps (continuous and discrete time), including infinite-dimensional dynamics, Hamiltonian dynamics, ergodic theory.
2,482 questions
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The "Dzhanibekov effect" - an exercise in mechanics or fiction? Explain mathematically a video from a space station
The question briefly:
Can one explain the "Dzhanibekov effect" (see youtube videos from space station or comments below) on the basis of the standard rigid body dynamics using Euler's equations? (Or ...
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What is an integrable system?
What is an integrable system, and what is the significance of such systems? (Maybe it is easier to explain what a non-integrable system is.) In particular, is there a dichotomy between "...
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Is there an underlying explanation for the magical powers of the Schwarzian derivative?
Given a function $f(z)$ on the complex plane, define the Schwarzian derivative $S(f)$ to be the function
$S(f) = \frac{f'''}{f'} - \frac{3}{2} \Big(\frac{f''}{f'}\Big)^2$
Here is a somewhat more ...
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What are the shapes of rational functions?
I would like to understand and compute the shapes of rational functions, that is, holomorphic maps of the Riemann sphere to itself, or equivalently, ratios of two polynomials, up to Moebius ...
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Dropping three bodies
Consider the usual three-body problem with Newtonian
$1/r^2$ force between masses. Let the three masses start off at rest,
and not collinear. Then they will become collinear a finite time ...
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Light rays bouncing in twisted tubes
Imagine a smooth curve $c$ sweeping out a unit-radius disk that is
orthogonal to the curve at every point.
Call the result a tube.
I want to restrict the radius of curvature of $c$ to be at most 1.
I ...
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votes
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answers
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Perfectly centered break of a perfectly aligned pool ball rack
Imagine the beginning of a game of pool, you have 16 balls, 15 of them in a triangle <| and 1 of them being the cue ball off to the left of that triangle. Imagine that the rack (the 15 balls in a ...
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Does iterating the derivative infinitely many times give a smooth function whenever it converges?
I am a graduate student and I've been thinking about this fun but frustrating problem for some time. Let $d = \frac{d}{dx}$, and let $f \in C^{\infty}(\mathbb{R})$ be such that for every real $x$, $$g(...
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4
answers
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Perron number distribution
A Perron number is a real algebraic integer $\lambda$ that is larger than the absolute value of any of its Galois conjugates. The Perron-Frobenius theorem says that any
non-negative integer matrix $M$ ...
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On the first sequence without triple in arithmetic progression
In this Numberphile video (from 3:36 to 7:41), Neil Sloane explains an amazing sequence:
It is the lexicographically first among the sequences of positive integers without triple in arithmetic ...
56
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6
answers
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Escape the zombie apocalypse
Consider zombies placed uniformly at random over $\mathbb{R}^2$ with asymptotic density $\mu$ zombies/area. You are placed at a random point and can move with speed $1$. Zombies move with speed $v\leq ...
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A function whose fixed points are the primes
If $a(n) = (\text{largest proper divisor of } n)$, let $f:\mathbb{N} \setminus \{ 0,1\} \to \mathbb{N}$ be defined by $f(n) = n+a(n)-1$. For instance, $f(100)=100+50-1=149$. Clearly the fixed points ...
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Can we actually find any fixed points with Brouwer's theorem?
Background
At the risk of greatly oversimplifying matters, let me state a heuristic from Granas and Dugundji's beautiful book: fixed point theorems fall into two broad categories. The first class is ...
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Does Conway's game of life admit a notion of energy?
(I am not sure if this is a mathematics or physics question so I am not sure where to post it. I am posting it here because the chief subject is an unreal universe that is purely a subject of ...
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The functional equation $f(f(x))=x+f(x)^2$
I'd like to gather information and references on the following functional equation for power series $$f(f(x))=x+f(x)^2,$$$$f(x)=\sum_{k=1}^\infty c_k x^k$$
(so $c_0=0$ is imposed).
First things that ...
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Did Gaston Julia ever get to see a computer-generated image of his eponymous set?
I learned from Wikipedia that Gaston Julia died in 1978. Is it known if he ever got to see a computer-generated image of the set named after him?
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When does iterating $z \mapsto z^2 + c$ have an exact solution?
If one iterates the map $z \mapsto z^2 + c$ there is obviously a simple formula for the sequence one gets if $c=0$. Less obviously, there is also a simple formula when $c = -2$ (use the identity $2 \...
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answers
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Finding a 1-form adapted to a smooth flow
Let $M$ be a smooth compact manifold, and let $X$ be a smooth vector field of $M$ that is nowhere vanishing, thus one can think of the pair $(M,X)$ as a smooth flow with no fixed points. Let us say ...
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Is there an elementary proof that distal maps are invertible?
Let $T: X \to X$ be a continuous map on a compact metric space $X$. We say $T$ is distal if $\inf_n d(T^n x, T^n y) = 0$ implies $x = y$.
Then it is true that $T$ is bijective.
Question: Is there an ...
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answers
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Can we trap light in a polygonal room?
Suppose we have a polygonal path $P$ on the plane resulting from removal of an one of a convex polygon's edges and a ray of light "coming from infinity" (that is, if we were to trace the path ...
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Which polynomial's roots are its coefficients?
Start with any polynomial of degree $n$ with complex coefficients, e.g.,
$$z^3+z^2+2 z+3 \;.$$
Find its $n$ roots, and list them in order of their modulus:
$$-1.28, (0.14\pm 1.53 i)$$
Now form a new ...
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Surfaces filled densely by a geodesic
Which smooth, closed surfaces $S \subset \mathbb{R}^3$ have no
single geodesic $\gamma$ that fills $S$ densely?
Say a geodesic $\gamma$ "fills $S$ densely" if the closure of the set of points
...
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answers
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3D Billiards problem inside a torus
I have been trying to simulate the behavior of a light particle being reflected inside of a torus (essentially a 3D billiards problem). I have found that after a few thousand bounces, it converges on "...
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3
answers
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The error in Petrovski and Landis' proof of the 16th Hilbert problem
What was the main error in the proof of the second part of the 16th Hilbert problem by Petrovski and Landis?
Please see this related post and also the following post.. For Mathematical development ...
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1
answer
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Is the area of the Mandelbrot provably computable?
Recall the Mandelbrot set $M$ is the set of points $c$ in the complex plane such that the sequence $z_0 = 0, z_{n+1} = z_n^2 + c$ is bounded. It is well-known that $M$ is a compact set of positive ...
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answers
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What "real life" problems can be solved using billiards?
Recently I gave an interview to local media where I explained some basic open problems in billiard dynamics.
After a 45 min interview the reported asked me what "real life" problems can be ...
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Billiard dynamics under gravity
Has the dynamics of billiards in a polygon subject to gravity been
studied?
What I have in mind is something like this:
Still Snell's Law ...
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answer
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A question of Erdős on equidistribution
In his book Metric Number Theory, Glyn Harman mentions the following problem he attributes to Erdős:
Let $f(\alpha)$ be a bounded measurable function with period 1. Is it true that
$$\lim_{N\...
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Open problems in PDEs, dynamical systems, mathematical physics
(This question might not be appropriate for this site. If so, I apologize in advance. I would have posted to mathstack, but I'm looking for advice from active researchers.)
I am an undergrad in math ...
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Is there a categorical treatment of dynamical systems?
Let $X$ be a set and $(T,\cdot)$ an abelian group. Is there a category of $T$-dynamical systems on $X$ which yields useful information about $X$ and $T$?
More precisely, is there a category whose ...
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Does iterating a certain function related to the sums of divisors eventually always result in a prime value?
Let define the following function for integers (from 2): $f(x)=\sigma(x)-1$, where $\sigma$ is the sum of the divisors of $x$.
For example $f(6)=6+3+2=11$, $f(5)=5$.
Note that $x$ is a fixed point for ...
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Why is the billiard problem for obtuse triangles so hard?
This is an incredibly naive question so this may be closed. Nevertheless, I have been reading about the problem asking if every obtuse triangle admits a periodic billiard path, which has been open ...
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Does there exist a shot in ideal pocket billiards?
Assume you have one shot with the cue ball in pocket billiards (a.k.a. pool), with
the game idealized in that no spin is placed on the cue ball in
the initial shot, all collisions between billiard ...
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Can every $\mathbb{Z}^2$ disk be pinball-reached?
Let every point of $\mathbb{Z}^2$ be surrounded by a mirrored disk of radius $r < \frac{1}{2}$,
except leave the origin $(0,0)$ unoccupied by a disk.
Q. Is it the case that every disk can be hit ...
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Is there a reset sequence?
There is a question someone (I'm hazy as to who) told me years ago. I found it fascinating for a time, but then I forgot about it, and I'm out of touch with any subsequent developments. Can anyone ...
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How is the Julia set of $fg$ related to the Julia set of $gf$?
Let $f$ and $g$ be complex rational functions (of degree $\geq 2$ if that helps). What can be said about the relationship between $J(fg)$ and $J(gf)$, the Julia sets of the composite functions $f \...
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A Collatz-like problem on prime numbers
Consider the function $f$ on the prime numbers defined by $$ f(p):= \text{ the greatest prime factor of } 2p+1.$$ The iteration of $f$ from any prime $p<10^8$ converges to the cycle $$(3,7,5,11,23,...
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A Collatz-like function that bifurcates on primes
This is likely piling one mystery on another, but ...
I was exploring a function $f(n): \mathbb{N} \mapsto \mathbb{N}$ defined as follows:
$$
f(n) =
\begin{cases}
n^2 & \text{if} \;n \;\text{is ...
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Optic fibers after Joseph O'Rourke
Let $\gamma\colon[a,b]\to \mathbb R^3$ be a smooth curve with curvature $< 1$.
Consider a tube, formed by one parameter family of unit circles with center at $\gamma(t)$ in the plane orthogonal to $...
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Vanishing line on Conway's game of life
If the initial state of Conway's game of life is a line of $n \in [0,100]$ alive cells, then it vanishes completely after some steps iff $n \in \{0,1,2,6,14,15,18,19,23,24 \}$. See below for $n=24$.
...
31
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solving linear equations made difficult
(Note: This is a what's-in-the-literature question, not a what's-mathematically-true question, but I believe both are considered valid kinds of MathOverflow question.)
I saw this amusing derivation ...
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Status of the 196 conjecture?
A palindrome is a number which remains the same when reversing it, for instance 34143. Now pick an arbitrary number, say 26: then 26+62=88 is a palindrome. If the number was 57, then 57+75=132 is not ...
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Fractal-like structures arising from the action of a group on $\mathbb{Z}^2$
Let $G := \langle a, b, c \rangle < {\rm Sym}(\mathbb{Z}^2)$ be the group
generated by the permutation
$$
a: \ (m,n) \ \mapsto \ (m-n,m)
$$
of order $6$ and the involutions
$$
b: \ (m,n) \ \...
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Unconventional examples of mathematical modelling
I'll soon be teaching a (basic) course on mathematical control theory. The first part of the course will focus on mathematical modelling of dynamical systems. More precisely, I will present examples ...
29
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Improving a sequence of 1s and -1s
Suppose you take a $\pm 1$ sequence and you want to "improve it" by taking pointwise limits of translates. What properties can you guarantee to get in the limit?
Two examples illustrate what I think ...
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Rational functions with a common iterate
Let $f$ and $g$ be two rational functions. To avoid trivialities, we suppose that their degrees are
at least $2$. We say that they have a common iterate if $f^m=g^n$ for some positive integers $m,n$,
...
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Dynamical properties of injective continuous functions on $\mathbb{R}^d$
Let $\varphi:\mathbb{R}^d\to\mathbb{R}^d$ be an injective continuous function.
Denote by $\varphi_n$ the $n$-th iterate of $\varphi$, i.e.
$\varphi_n(x)=\varphi_{n-1}(\varphi(x))$ for all $x\in\...
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Codimension of the range of certain linear operators
Added:8/15/2024 What about holomorphic or real analytic version? Please see the comment discussions on this post.
Assume that $P(x,y), Q(x,y) \in \mathbb{R}[x,y]$ are two polynomials. We ...
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0
answers
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Blocking light with mirrored convex objects
There is a long-unsolved problem posed by Janos Pach,
sometimes known as the enchanted forest problem,
which asks if it is possible to block a point light source
in the plane
from reaching
infinity by ...
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votes
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Book recommendation for ergodic theory and/or topological dynamics?
Hello,
I'd like to hear your opinion for ergodic theory books which would suit a beginner (with background in measure theory, real analysis and topological groups). I am looking for something well ...