In mathematics, Lyapunov fractals are bifurcational fractals derived from an extension of the logistic map in which the degree of the growth of the population, r, periodically switches between two values A and B.
Overview
In mathematics, Lyapunov fractals (also known as Markus–Lyapunov fractals) are bifurcational fractals derived from an extension of the logistic map in which the degree of the growth of the population, r, periodically switches between two values A and B.
A Lyapunov fractal is constructed by mapping the regions of stability and chaotic behaviour (measured using the Lyapunov exponent ) in the a−b plane for given periodic sequences of a and b. In the images, yellow corresponds to (stability), and blue corresponds to (chaos).
Lyapunov fractals were discovered in the late 1980s by the Germano-Chilean physicist Mario Markus from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology. They were introduced to a large public by a science popularization article on recreational mathematics published in Scientific American in 1991.
Properties
Lyapunov fractals are generally drawn for values of A and B in the interval . For larger values, the interval [0,1] is no longer stable, and the sequence is likely to be attracted by infinity, although convergent cycles of finite values continue to exist for some parameters. For all iteration sequences, the diagonal a = b is always the same as for the standard one parameter logistic function.
