Predicting Chaos for Infinite Dimensional Dynamical Systems: The Kuramoto-Sivashinsky Equation, a Case Study

摘要

The results of extensive computations are presented in order to accuratelycharacterize transitions to chaos for the Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equation. In particular we follow the oscillatory dynamics in a window that supports a complete sequence of period doubling bifurcations preceding chaos. As many as thirteen period doublings are followed and used to compute the Feigenbaum number for the cascade and so enable, for the first time, an accurate numerical evaluation of the theory of universal behavior of nonlinear systems, for an infinite dimensional dynamical system. Further more, the dynamics at the threshold of chaos exhibit a fractal behavior which is demonstrated and used to compute a universal scaling factor that enables the self-similar continuation of the solution into a chaotic regime.