Chaotic system w/ initial condition

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the behavior of chaotic systems in relation to changes in initial conditions. Participants explore whether altering initial conditions can lead a chaotic system to become non-chaotic, with examples drawn from specific systems like the damped driven pendulum and the Duffing oscillator.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Technical explanation, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests that changing the initial conditions of a chaotic system could lead to non-chaotic behavior, expressing uncertainty about their stance.
  • Another participant references a balanced pencil as an example of a chaotic system and questions the effects of changing its initial conditions.
  • A participant shares personal experience with a damped driven pendulum and Duffing oscillator, noting that their simulations showed a transition from chaotic to non-chaotic behavior with changes in initial conditions.
  • A later reply discusses the concept of attractors in dynamic systems, explaining that a system can have both chaotic and non-chaotic attractors, implying that initial conditions can determine the trajectory of the system.
  • Specific parameters for the Duffing oscillator are mentioned, suggesting that under certain conditions, the system can exhibit both chaotic and non-chaotic trajectories based on initial conditions.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on whether chaotic systems can become non-chaotic with changes in initial conditions. While some suggest this is possible, others provide examples and theoretical frameworks that support this idea, indicating that the discussion remains unresolved with multiple competing perspectives.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference specific systems and parameters, but the discussion does not resolve the underlying assumptions or mathematical details regarding the behavior of chaotic systems.

Brown Arrow
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so i have been studying chaotic system in class, and i just want to know if we change the initial conditions of a chaotic system can it become non-chaotic?

I think yes because, chaotic system is sensitive to initial condition hence it would have an effect on the chaotic behavior.

I'm I right? i have a feeling I'm wrong.


:/ I'm contradicting my self :confused:
 
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Brown Arrow said:
so i have been studying chaotic system in class, and i just want to know if we change the initial conditions of a chaotic system can it become non-chaotic?

I think yes because, chaotic system is sensitive to initial condition hence it would have an effect on the chaotic behavior.
Hi Arrow. I'm no expert on chaotic systems but isn't a pencil balanced on its point a chaotic system?
Ref:
http://www.rigb.org/christmaslectures06/pdfs/why_does_it_always_rain.pdf
The Frontiers of Science
If so, then what happens if the initial conditions of the perfectly vertical pencil were to be changed?
 
thanks for the reply Q Goest.

umm yes that is true it will no longer be chaotic.

guess i did not specify the system :/

I had a damped driven pendulum and Duffing Oscillator,

I ran some plotting (in python) for it and changed the initial condition. what once was a chaotic system became non-chaotic after the change in initial condition.

so is it safe to assume that chaotic system can become non-chaotic depending on the initial condition? from the reference you gave Q Goest i think the answer is yes.
 
In short, for a (dissipative) dynamic system with a given fixed set of parameters there can in general be one or more attractors (with at least one of these being a chaotic attractor a.k.a. strange attractor if the system is to be chaotic) each with an associated basin of attraction. If the system in addition to the chaotic attractor(s) has a non-chaotic attractor (say, a fix point) then there obviously must be some initial conditions, namely those in the basic of attraction for this non-chaotic attractor, that will lead to a non-chaotic trajectory.

For the Duffing Oscillator (Duffing's Equation) I believe there are parameters for which the system has both chaotic and non-chaotic trajectories, and in those cases you will get chaotic or non-chaotic trajectory depending on the initial conditions. For instance, it looks like there should be both a chaotic and non-chaotic attractor for k = 0.2 and B = 1.2 (liftet from Ueda's parameter map for Duffing's Equation as it is shown in [1]).

[1] Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos, Thompson and Steward, Wiley, 2002.
 

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