3rd Edition

Encounters with Chaos and Fractals

By Denny Gulick, Jeff Ford Copyright 2024
410 Pages 160 B/W Illustrations
by Chapman & Hall

410 Pages 160 B/W Illustrations
by Chapman & Hall

Encounters with Chaos and Fractals, Third Edition provides an accessible introduction to chaotic dynamics and fractal geometry. It incorporates important mathematical concepts and backs up the definitions and results with motivation, examples, and applications. The third edition updates this classic book for a modern audience. New applications on contemporary topics, like data science and... Read more

 

Chapter 1 Periodic Points

 

Iterates of Functions   

Graphical Analysis of Iterates  

Section 1.1 Exercises   

 

Fixed Points    

Attracting and Repelling Fixed Points 

Basins of Attraction   

Eventually Fixed Points   

Section 1.2 Exercises  

 

Periodic Points    

Attracting Periodic Points   

Time Series and Periodic Points 

Section 1.3 exercises   

 

Families of Functions   

The Family {gμ}   

The Tent Family {Tμ}  

Eventually Periodic and Periodic Points of T

Section 1.4 Exercises   

 

The Quadratic Family   

Section 1.5 Exercises   

 

Bifurcation Diagrams    

Period-Doubling Bifurcations    

Tangent Bifurcations    

Section 1.6 Exercises   

 

Period-3 Points    

Section 1.7 Exercises   

 

The Schwarzian Derivative   

Section 1.8 Exercises   

 

Chapter 2 One-Dimensional Chaos    

Chaos     

Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions 

Lyapunov Exponents    

Chaos     

The Butterfly Effect   

The Asteroid Belt   

Conclusion     

Section 2.1 Exercises   

 

Transitivity and Strong Chaos  

Strong Chaos    

Section 2.2 Exercises   

 

Conjugacy     

Section 2.3 Exercises  

 

Cantor Sets    

The Cantor Ternary Set  

Strong Chaos of Functions in {Qμ}

Section 2.4 Exercises   

 

Chapter 3 Two-Dimensional Chaos    

Review of Matrices   

Brief Review of 2 × 2 Matrices

Similar Matrices    

Section 3.1 Exercises   

 

Dynamics of Linear Functions  

Linear Functions    

Dynamics of Linear Functions  

Section 3.2 Exercises   

 

Nonlinear Maps    

Baker’s Functions    

Section 3.3 Exercises   

 

The H ́enon Map  

Section 3.4 Exercises   

 

The Horseshoe Map   

Homoclinic Points    

The Williams Solenoid   

 

Chapter 4 Systems of Differential Equations  

Review of Systems of Differential Equations

Linear Differential Equations   

Systems of Two Linear Differential Equations

Table of results illustrating the relationship between eigenvalues and critical points

Exercises 4.1    

 

Almost Linearity    

Limit Cycles    

Exercises 4.2    

 

The Pendulum    

Exercises 4.3    

 

The Lorenz System   

Conclusion     

Exercises 4.4    

 

Chapter 5 Introduction to Fractals   

Self-Similarity     

The Cantor Set Revisited  

The Length of the Cantor Set

The Devil’s Staircase   

Exercies 5.1

 

The Sierpiński Gasket and Other “Monsters”

The Chaos Game   

The Sierpiński Carpet   

The Menger Sponge   

The Koch Curve   

The Koch Snowflake 

Exercises 5.2

 

Space-Filling Curves    

Hilbert’s Space-Filling Curve   

Cauchy Sequences    

Exercise 5.3

 

Similarity and Capacity Dimensions  

Similarity Dimension    

Capacity Dimension    

Exercises 5.4

 

Lyapunov Dimension    

Exercises 5.5

 

Calculating Fractal Dimensions of Objects 

The Compass Dimension   

Exercises 5.6

 

Chapter 6 Creating Fractal Sets   

Metric Spaces    

Complete Metric Spaces   

Exercises 6.1    

 

The Hausdorff Metric   

Exercises 6.2    

 

Contractions and Affine Functions  

Contractions .     

Affine Functions    

Isometries     

Exercises 6.3    

 

Iterated Function Systems   

Exercises 6.4    

 

Algorithms for Drawing Fractals  

The Complete Iteration Algorithm  

The Random Iteration Algorithm     

The Chaos Game Revisited  

Exercises 6.5    

 

Chapter 7 Complex Fractals: Julia Sets and The Mandelbrot

Complex Numbers and Functions  

Complex Functions    

Zeros and Fixed Points of Complex Functions

Periodic Points    

Attracting and Repelling Periodic Points 

Exercises 7.1

Julia Sets    

Exercises 7.2

The Mandelbrot Set   

Exercises 7.3

 

APPENDIX: COMPUTER PROGRAMS   

ANSWERS TO SELECTED EXERCISES  

Biography

Denny Gulick is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Maryland. His research interests include operator theory and fractal geometry. He earned a PhD from Yale University.

Jeff Ford is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Gustavus Adolphus College. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from Gustavus Adolphus College, his Master’s degree in mathematics from Minnesota State University-Mankato, and his Ph.D. in mathematics from Auburn University, studying under Dr. Krystyna Kuperberg. Jeff is interested in the existence of volume-preserving dynamical systems with unique properties. Jeff uses and assesses a variety of active learning techniques in his class including inquiry-based learning and team-based learning. His scholarship in this area centers on understanding how active learning techniques improve confidence and reduce anxiety in undergraduate students.