Questions tagged [fractals]

Fractals deal with special sets that exhibit complicated patterns in every scale. Fractal sets usually have a Hausdorff dimension different from its topological dimension. Examples include Julia sets, the Sierpinski triangle, the Cantor set. Fractals naturally appear in dynamical system, such as iterations in the complex plane, or as strange attractors to continuous dynamical systems, (see Lorentz attractor).

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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?
T. Donaldson's user avatar
40 votes
7 answers
15k views

How might M.C. Escher have designed his patterns?

I realize this question isn't strictly mathematical, and if it doesn't fit with the content on this site then feel free (moderators/high-rep users) to close it. But when I thought up the question it ...
Dan Tao's user avatar
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37 votes
1 answer
3k views

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 ...
Jason Rute's user avatar
  • 6,237
33 votes
5 answers
3k views

How to define a differential form on a fractal?

It is well known how to construct a Laplacian on a fractal using the Dirichlet forms (see e.g. the survey article by Strichartz). This implies, in particular, that a fractal can be "heated", i.e. one ...
Andrey Rekalo's user avatar
29 votes
2 answers
2k views

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) \ \...
Stefan Kohl's user avatar
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29 votes
1 answer
800 views

Running most of the time in a connected set

Let $P$ be a compact connected set in the plane and $x,y\in P$. Is it always possible to connect $x$ to $y$ by a path $\gamma$ such that the length of $\gamma\backslash P$ is arbitrary small? ...
Anton Petrunin's user avatar
27 votes
5 answers
4k views

Why are the Julia sets so simple? (quadratic family)

I want to know why, when I look at the Julia sets of the quadratic family, I see only a finite number of repeating patterns, rather than a countable infinity of them. My question is specifically ...
Andrea's user avatar
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27 votes
3 answers
936 views

A point set of power series with coefficients in {-1, 1}. Connected or not?

Let $z$ be a fixed complex number with $|z|<1$ and consider the set $$X_z := \Big\{\sum\limits_{i=1}^{\infty} a_i z^i \ \Big|\ a_i\in \{-1,1\} \forall i\Big\}.$$ What can be said about the set $M$ ...
Kirby Lee's user avatar
  • 373
27 votes
1 answer
1k views

How can we not know the $s$-measure of the Sierpiński triangle?

I'm preparing a presentation that would enable high-school level students to grasp that the (self-similarity) dimension of an object needs not be an integer. The first example we look at is the ...
Rami Luisto's user avatar
25 votes
6 answers
5k views

Parametrization of the boundary of the Mandelbrot set

Does anyone know how to parametrize the boundary of the Mandelbrot set? I am not a fractal-geometer or a dynamical systems person. I just have some idle curiosity about this question. The ...
David Richter's user avatar
23 votes
9 answers
4k views

Unexpected occurrences of the Sierpinski triangle

The probably most well-known occurrence of the Sierpinski Triangle is as the odd entries of the Pascal triangle Some month ago however, there was an article about mathematical models of sandpiles ...
19 votes
3 answers
5k views

Area of the boundary of the Mandelbrot set ?

My second question about Shishikura's result : Shishikura (1991) proved that the Hausdorff Dimension of the boundary of the Mandelbrot set equals 2, in this paper 1. In a sense, could we consider it ...
Alexis Monnerot-Dumaine's user avatar
18 votes
3 answers
2k views

How to add two numbers from a group theoretic perspective?

It is known that adding two numbers and looking at the carrying operation has a link with cocycles in group theory. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/3072368?origin=crossref) When we add two numbers by ...
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18 votes
2 answers
3k views

Is there some known way to create the Mandelbrot set (the boundary), with an iterated function system?

Is there some known way to create the Mandelbrot set (the boundary), with an iterated function system (IFS)? Julia sets can be formed by iterating the two functions $z \mapsto \pm \sqrt{z-c},$ and ...
Per Alexandersson's user avatar
17 votes
2 answers
2k views

♢ ⧫ ⬠: the fourth kind of Penrose tiling?

It’s known that Penrose tilings have several implementations that are mutually locally derivable; but the sources (such as en.wikipedia) list no more than three essentially different variants. There ...
Incnis Mrsi's user avatar
16 votes
1 answer
1k views

Are the algebraic numbers dense everywhere on the boundary of the Mandelbrot set?

Let $\mathcal{B}$ denote the boundary of the Mandelbrot set, and let $\overline{\mathbb{Q}}$ denote the algebraic closure of the rationals. Further put $\mathcal{B}_{\overline{\mathbb{Q}}} := \mathcal{...
Stefan Kohl's user avatar
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16 votes
1 answer
2k views

Relation between math and piano music

What, if any, is the relation between Cantor's function and Ligeti studio: Devil's Staircase?
tatojo's user avatar
  • 279
16 votes
3 answers
576 views

How to plot this fractal

I'm a graphic designer and my client has asked me to use this fractal in a design that I'm working on. As you can see, it's not a very good copy, so I'm trying to see if I can generate a high-...
Circle B's user avatar
  • 263
15 votes
3 answers
1k views

Is there an intrinsic definition of fractal (i.e. not embedded in euclidean space)?

Long ago, manifolds were embedded subsets of euclidean space defined by polynomials. Later, using the gluing of open sets, people realized they could define manifolds intrinsically. And in certain ...
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15 votes
2 answers
1k views

Does "Algebraic numbers coloured by degree" form a fractal?

This picture from Wikipedia's article on Algebraic numbers shows a visualization of Algebraic numbers coloured by degree. I'm wondering if this is a fractal?
M.S.'s user avatar
  • 236
14 votes
4 answers
2k views

Fourier decay rate of Cantor measures

For $0<\theta<\frac{1}{2}$, denote by $C_\theta$ the Cantor set with dissection ratio $\theta$, i.e. the Cantor set obtained from dissection parttern $(\theta, 1-2\theta,\theta)$. It is known ...
Syang Chen's user avatar
14 votes
2 answers
2k views

sequences with a fractal dimension

This is inspired by the self-similarity of the celebrated Golay-Rudin-Shapiro sequence, more exactly, of its alternating partial sums. (This latter one is oeis 020990). The pictures show the 550 first ...
Wolfgang's user avatar
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13 votes
1 answer
2k views

Analysis of the boundary of the Mandelbrot set

Motivation: The Mandlebrot set is a simply connected set with an infinitely complex boundary, but CAN one move from interior to the exterior of this topological space by just crossing over a finite ...
ARi's user avatar
  • 841
13 votes
2 answers
959 views

What is the Hausdorff dimension of this fractal?

Let $\sum_{i=h}^\infty d_i/b^i $ be the base $b$ representation of $x \geq 0,$ where $b>1$ and the $d_i$ are uniquely determined by the greedy algorithm. For fixed $c>1,$ let $f(x)= \sum_{i=h}^\...
Clark Kimberling's user avatar
13 votes
3 answers
943 views

Dimensions of self-affine sets

Let $A$ be a $2\times 2$ matrix which we assume to be contracting, i.e., the exists $\alpha\in(0,1)$ such that $$ \|A {\mathbf x}\|_2\le \alpha\|{\mathbf x}\|_2,\quad \forall {\mathbf x}\in\mathbb R^...
Nikita Sidorov's user avatar
13 votes
3 answers
721 views

Julia sets using other fields

I hope I am forgiven for my noob question. But, does it make sense to think of Julia sets using other fields? More precisely I would like to think of fields in which closed and bounded isn't ...
Jose Capco's user avatar
  • 2,175
13 votes
2 answers
749 views

On the boundary of the twindragon

Let $\mathcal T$ be the famous twindragon, i.e., $$ \mathcal T=\left\{\sum_{n=0}^\infty a_n\left(\frac{1+i}2\right)^n : a_n\in\{0,1\}\right\}. $$ Then, as is well known, $\mathcal T$ has a non-empty ...
Nikita Sidorov's user avatar
13 votes
1 answer
547 views

Limit of homeomorphisms from square to square

Let $\square=[0,1]\times[0,1]$ be the unit square and $f\colon\square\to \square$ is a continuous map that fixes the points on the boundary. Assume $f$ is a limit of homeomorphisms $\square\to \...
Anton Petrunin's user avatar
13 votes
1 answer
1k views

Are there any exact results for Hausdorff Measure?

The computation of the Hausdorff measure is extremely difficult due to the infimum appearing in its definition. This has made the calculation of the Hausdorff measure for nearly all fractals difficult ...
Zachary W. Robertson's user avatar
12 votes
5 answers
3k views

Hausdorff dimension for invariant measure?

A fractal set has a Hausdorff dimension. In some cases, we may generate a fractal by iterating $f,$ and let the fractal be the set of starting points $x$ such that $|f^{\circ n}(x)|$ is bounded as $...
Per Alexandersson's user avatar
12 votes
2 answers
712 views

Algorithm for computing external angles for the Mandelbrot set

Let $M$ be the Mandelbrot set: there exists a unique series $$ \psi(z) := z + \sum_{m=0}^{+\infty} b_m z^{-m} = z - \frac{1}{2} + \frac{1}{8} z^{-1} - \frac{1}{4} z^{-2} + \cdots $$ which defines a ...
Gro-Tsen's user avatar
  • 29.9k
12 votes
1 answer
822 views

The Koch snow flake, Holder exponents of conformal mappings

The Koch snow flake $K$ is a domain of $\mathbb{C}$, complex plane. Though, I do not state the precise definition, you can see the picture in wikipedia Koch snow flake. The Koch snow flake $K$ is a ...
sharpe's user avatar
  • 701
11 votes
3 answers
1k views

Self-Similar Graphs

Many fractals can be generated using and infinite sequence of graphs. For example, Sierpinski's Gasket could be generated by the following sequence of graphs. Many definitions of fractal dimensions (...
Halbort's user avatar
  • 1,129
11 votes
1 answer
413 views

Cantor set intersecting a geometric sequence

I was working on a problem involving finding all points in the intersection of the Cantor set $C$ and the geometric sequence $\{ (2/3)^i \}_{i=1}^\infty$. The only points I have in this intersection ...
nflswsykimi's user avatar
11 votes
2 answers
604 views

Nim and the Sierpinski Gasket

(I discovered this in high school, sent it off to a journal, never heard back, and forgot about it. I've never found anyone else who appeared to know about it; the combinatorial game theorists I've ...
Bakkot's user avatar
  • 211
11 votes
0 answers
314 views

Hausdorff dimension and von Neumann dimension

There are two subjects in which non-integral dimensions appear: fractal geometry: consider the well-known Hausdorff dimension of fractals. von Neumann algebra: consider a type ${\rm II_1}$ ...
Sebastien Palcoux's user avatar
10 votes
5 answers
679 views

Iterated function system on the plane

Let $r_1, r_2, r_3$ be three nonnegative real numbers with $r_1^2+r_2^2+r_3^2 <1$. Can you find three similitudes $f_1,f_2,f_3$ on $\mathbb{R}^2$ with similarity ratios $r_1,r_2,r_3$ resp. and a ...
Yunus ÖZDEMİR's user avatar
10 votes
1 answer
397 views

Convex Julia sets

Consider the classical Julia set $J_f$ associated with $f(z)=z^2+c$. Since $J_c$ is completely invariant, we know that $f^{-1}(J_f) \subseteq J_f$. Now, let $H_f$ be the convex hull of $J_f$. Is it ...
Per Alexandersson's user avatar
10 votes
1 answer
9k views

Relationship between fractal dimension and Hurst exponent

For many basic random processes (like fractional Brownian motion) Hurst exponent "H" and fractal dimensions ( Hausdorf = Minkoswki typically) "D" are realated by simple formula D = 2-H. I want to ...
Alexander Chervov's user avatar
10 votes
1 answer
1k views

Smallest positive zero of Weierstrass nowhere differentiable function

Consider the Weierstrass nowhere differentiable function $f(x) = \sum_{n=0}^\infty \frac{1}{2^n} \cos(4^n \pi x)$. It seems that the smallest positive zero of $f(x)$ occurs at $x=\frac{1}{5}$, but I ...
M Wright's user avatar
  • 403
10 votes
1 answer
2k views

Area of filled Julia sets

The recent question Area of the boundary of the Mandelbrot set ? prompted me to ask this question. There has been some work on estimates for the area of the Mandelbrot set, e.g., a paper by John H. ...
lhf's user avatar
  • 2,942
9 votes
2 answers
1k views

Is this a Julia set (and if so, for which function family is it the Julia set)?

Consider the function family given by $f_\lambda(z) = z - p_\lambda(z)/p_\lambda'(z)$ where $p_\lambda(z) = (z^2 - 1)(z - \lambda)$. Every attracting cycle and every rational neutral cycle of $f_\...
Aaron Golden's user avatar
9 votes
3 answers
876 views

local behavior of a finite Borel measure

Let $\mu$ be a finite Borel measure on $\mathbb{R}^n$. I am interested in how does $\mu(B(x,r))$ behave, where $B(x,r)$ is the open ball of radius $r$ centered at $x$. For instance, as far as I recall,...
gondolier's user avatar
  • 1,829
9 votes
2 answers
900 views

What one really can do with fractals built from L-systems?

For any L-system one can naturally associate a fractal. Why these fractals are (mathematically) useful apart that they are a source of nice pictures?
Victor's user avatar
  • 1,427
9 votes
1 answer
717 views

Does the family of fat Cantor sets contain a measurable rectangle?

Let $S \subset (0, \frac{1}{3}) \times [0, 1]$, be the set such that for each $0 < t < \frac{1}{3}$, $S \cap (\{ t \} \times [0, 1])$ is the standard Smith-Volterra Cantor set of parameter $t$. ...
Nate River's user avatar
  • 4,822
9 votes
1 answer
362 views

Box dimension of the set of Pisot numbers?

A Pisot number is an algebraic integer bigger than $1$ with all of its Galois conjugates having modulus less than $1$. The set of Pisot numbers is known to be countably infinite and is not dense in $(...
Bill Mance's user avatar
9 votes
2 answers
606 views

Complexity of the Mandelbrot set on rationals

Given two rationals $a,b \in \mathbb{Q}$, call $c = a + ib$, i.e., the complex number represented by these two rationals. A point $c$ is contained within the Mandelbrot set $M$ if the following ...
Phylliida's user avatar
  • 695
9 votes
2 answers
1k views

Fractal Tiling of Rhombic Dodecahedra

Hello, this is my first question on Math Overflow... Rhombic dodecahedra can be tiled in 3-space, leaving no gaps. This tiling corresponds to the close-packing of spheres. Consider a "nucleus" ...
user avatar
9 votes
0 answers
473 views

Does the intersection of middle third and middle half Cantor sets contain an irrational number?

Let $C_\frac{1}{3}$ be the middle third Cantor set, that is, the set of real numbers in the interval $[0,1]$ which can be written in base $3$ using only digits $0$ and $2$. Likewise let $C_\frac{1}{2}$...
Dmitrii Korshunov's user avatar
9 votes
0 answers
179 views

Is each Peano continuum a topological fractal?

Problem. Is each Peano continuum a topological fractal? A compact Hausdorff space $X$ is a topological fractal if $X=\bigcup_{i=1}^n f_i(X)$ for some continuous maps $f_1,\dots,f_n:X\to X$ such that ...
Lviv Scottish Book's user avatar

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