1. Introduction
Chaos theory encompasses many fields of research [
1]; one of them is the study of different routes to chaos [
2,
3]. Chaotic intermittency is a route by which a dynamic system can develop chaos. It is characterized by almost ordered motion in state space disrupted by randomly distributed chaotic bursts. Regular or laminar phases represent pseudo-equilibrium and pseudo-periodic solutions, while the bursts are related with chaotic behavior [
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8,
9].
In the middle of the 20th century, Batchelor and Townsend utilized the intermittency word to represent the fluctuating velocity in fully turbulent flows [
10]. Furthermore, in the 1970s, intermittency was also experimentally observed in developed turbulence [
11]. In nonlinear dynamics and chaos, the intermittency concept was introduced by Pomeau and Maneville in the context of the Lorenz system [
12]. Afterward, intermittency has been found in several phenomena in chemistry, engineering, physics, medicine, biology, etc. [
13,
14,
15,
16,
17,
18,
19,
20,
21,
22,
23,
24,
25,
26,
27,
28,
29]. Accordingly, a deeper description of the chaotic intermittency phenomenon would increase the understanding of these topics.
Initially, chaotic intermittency was classified into three types: I, II, and III following the loss of stability of a periodic orbit or the loss of stability of a fixed point for the local Poincaré map [
12,
30]. After that, other types of chaotic intermittency were found: X, V, on–off, eyelet, ring, etc. [
31,
32,
33,
34,
35,
36].
Several continuous systems that contract volume in state spaces can be described by one-dimensional maps [
37]. These maps are characterized by a local map and a reinjection process. The local map is defined around the unstable or vanished fixed point and determines the type of intermittency and the laminar dynamics. Type I intermittency happens by a tangent bifurcation when an eigenvalue of the map leaves the unit circle across
. Type II intermittency occurs by a Hopf bifurcation, and two complex conjugate eigenvalues leave the unit circle. Type III intermittency appears by a subcritical period-doubling bifurcation, and then an eigenvalue leaves the unit circle across
[
2,
3,
6,
7]. For intermittency types I, II, and III, the characteristic local maps are [
6]
where
,
a, and
p are control parameters.
is a fixed point for the three maps, and the laminar interval
L is delimited around it.
The reinjection probability density function (RPD function) is utilized to describe the reinjection mechanism. This function determines the probability that trajectories are returned or reinjected close to the unstable or vanished fixed point and inside the laminar interval [
2,
3,
4,
6,
7]. The RPD function is defined by the chaotic dynamics of the system and strongly influences the correct description of the chaotic intermittency. The RPD was determined using various methods, although a comprehensive methodology was not employed. Among the different approaches tested, the most commonly adopted hypothesis was uniform reinjection [
2,
3,
4,
30].
A novel theory has been formulated, enabling the assessment of the RPD function through either an analytical representation of a map or by utilizing a set of numerical or experimental data [
38]. In this theory, the RPD function is described by a power law with exponent
, and it works correctly for types I, II, III, and V intermittency with and without noise [
6,
7]
The theory establishes that the reinjection process depends on the map derivative at pre-reinjection points, i.e., points
that verify
where
,
n, and
i are integer numbers [
6,
39]. Therefore, the pre-reinjection points drive the reinjection process.
The new generalized RPD function includes the uniform reinjection as a particular case for
[
38]. Furthermore, as the characteristic relation depends on the RPD function, the new RPD introduces a generalization of the characteristic relation concept [
6,
7].
A non-uniform RPD function happens if the map derivative at pre-reinjection points is zero or tends to infinity [
6,
7]. In a previous paper, the RPD was analytically evaluated for a map derivative at pre-reinjection points equal to zero [
39]. The authors approximate the map at pre-reinjection points as a power law function with exponent
where
w is an appropriate constant and the parameter
determines the RPD function exponent
Therefore, to determine the RPD function, the key is the correct obtaining of the exponent
. However, this scheme can exclusively be implemented at extreme pre-reinjection points, allowing
only to acquire positive integer values. By the symmetry between a function and its inverse, this scheme was extended to include the following maps derivative
where
is a pre-reinjection point. However, the exponent
results in
, where
j is a positive integer [
40].
This paper introduces a theory that generalizes the previous studies obtaining a comprehensive analytical approximation for the RPD function. In the new framework, the exponents and are represented for simple continued fractions and can acquire any real number. Therefore, the previous developments are only particular cases of the new theory. In addition, for several maps, the theory describes that continued fractions determine the characteristic relation exponent .
Numerical tests are carried out to validate the new analytical results. Also, the new theory is compared with the
M function methodology and the Perron–Frobenius operator technique [
6,
7,
41]. In all the tests, the new theoretical results accurately verify the numerical ones. Additionally, they show good agreement with those calculated by the
M function methodology and the Perron–Frobenius operator technique.
The present paper has five sections. After this introduction, in
Section 2, we outline the previous works to evaluate the exponent
.
Section 3 describes the main result of this work, and we present a general analytical method to calculate the RPD function and the exponent of the characteristic relation
.
Section 4 shows several numerical tests to compare the new analytical results with those numerically calculated. Finally, in the last section, we summarize the main conclusions.
2. The RPD Function
As explained in previous studies, the RPD function is determined by the nonlinear map that produces the reinjection mechanisms [
6,
39]. The theoretical description of the power law RPD function provided by Equation (
2) works correctly for an extensive class of maps exhibiting chaotic intermittency with and without noise [
6,
7].
Here, we describe two previous studies to calculate the exponent
[
39,
40]. In
Section 3, we show that both works are only particular cases of the theory introduced in this paper.
We study one-dimensional maps
where
D is a real interval.
is a piecewise differentiable function and satisfies
and
except at a finite number of points called critical points of the map.
To clarify concepts, let us consider a classical map [
38,
42]:
where
verifies
, and
is a real number.
determines the laminar behavior, and it is called the local map. On the other hand,
governs the reinjection process.
is a fixed point for the map, which becomes unstable for
. Type II intermittency happens for
.
In a fundamental paper, Manneville [
42] determined uniform reinjection for Map (
7) with
and
, whereas del Rio and Elaskar [
38] presented the generalization to the map
for different values of
obtaining a power law RPD function.
All reinjected points inside the laminar zone
come from points near to
. For
, all points in
map on the interval
, where
are pre-reinjection points
, and where
and
is the upper limit of the laminar interval. Then, using the Perron–Frobenius operator methodology, the RPD function can be written as [
6,
41]
where
,
is the derivative of the
function, and
is the trajectories density. A constant
k is included because the density
is normalized in the interval
and the RPD function is only normalized in the laminar interval
L:
.
If we introduce the map provided by Equation (
7) in Equation (
8), we obtain [
38,
39]
where
can approximate as constant inside the interval
, and we assume the trajectories density
is also constant in the same interval. Therefore, the RPD results in a power law function with exponent
. Note that Equation (
9) reduces to Equation (
2), where
.
The new framework RPD can be applied for maps with a more complicated reinjection process. To study it, we consider the following map [
43]
For
, this map shows type III intermittency around the unstable fixed point
. The reinjection process depends on the value of
at the extreme points
verifying
. As the number of iterations rises, points
near to
move away in a process governed by the control parameters
a and
. For large values of
, the third term on the right-hand side of Equation (
10) increases its impact and
approaches the maximum
, providing the reinjection in the laminar interval. Note that points in the neighborhood of
spend two iterations to be reinjected in the laminar zone; even so, for these types of maps, the RPD function is also provided by Equation (
2). Accordingly, we can calculate from Equation (
10) a value of the parameter
determining the exponent
by Equation (
9).
The power law RPD
was verified in an extended class of one-dimensional maps (see [
6,
7] and references listed there). In addition, the new theory incorporates the previous studies, which implement a constant RPD. The uniform RPD is only a particular case for
and
. Otherwise,
implies
.
A constant RPD is generated at pre-reinjection points with a non-zero and finite map derivative. On the other hand, if the RPD function is generated at pre-reinjection points where the map derivative is zero or tends to infinity, the parameter generates no uniform RPD, , with .
From Equation (
9), five different behaviors are found depending on the
value:
- -
Case 1: ; , and for .
- -
Case 2 (uniform reinjection): , , and for .
- -
Case 3: , , , and for .
- -
Case 4: , , , and for .
- -
Case 5: , , , and for .
Note that, for Equation (
2), the RPD functions
and
possess symmetry concerning the bisector line.
2.1. Map Derivative Is Equal to Zero at Pre-Reinjection Points
In this framework, where
is generated around the point
as Equation (
9) describes, the parameter
determines the exponent
of the RPD function. For most maps, the exponent
does not appear explicitly in the map definition. Ref. [
39] introduced a methodology to theoretically evaluate
, which relates a value of
to a reinjection map. Nevertheless, this methodology only applies to reinjection processes generated around extreme points. It implies that the
exponent can only acquire positive integer values.
We briefly describe the theoretical methodology introduced in [
39]. The map around an extreme point
is approximated by Equation (
3):
. From this equation,
can be obtained as
where the exponent between parentheses shows the order of derivation. If the derivatives with
verify
and the derivative
and finite, the parameter
results in
, and, from Equation (
9), the exponent
is
Accordingly, the RPD function results
where
b is the normalization parameter
It is important to note that the formulation introduced in [
39] cannot evaluate the RPD functions for
. Therefore, this scheme does not include Cases 3, 4, and 5.
2.2. Map Derivative Tends to Infinity at Pre-Reinjection Points
A method to calculate the exponents
and
for maps with derivatives
has been presented in a recent paper [
40]. This paper only studies maps like Equation (
7) shows. Here, we extend this methodology to include more general maps like those provided by Equation (
6).
Let us consider a map provided by Equation (
6). It shows intermittency and
, where
is a pre-reinjection point. To determine the parameter
and the exponent
, we use the inverse function of
around
. Geometrically, we are taking advantage of the symmetry concerning the bisector line of a function with its inverse.
Once the inverse function of
around
has been obtained, called here
, we utilize the analytical method previously described to calculate the exponent
for the inverse function. From Equation (
3), the
function can be approximated as
where
is a constant,
, and
can be obtained using the Equation (
11)
If the derivatives of
at
verify
with
and
and finite, then
. In view of that, the approximation of
can be calculated from Equations (
3) and (
15)
Therefore, the RPD function is provided by Equation (
13), with
.
We highlight that, to use this framework,
must be injective around
[
44]. Also, this scheme applies to maps
for which there are no analytical inverse functions [
40]. However,
is restricted to rational numbers
, where
j is an integer number.
To apply Equations (
15) and (
16), we have assumed that
is at least a
scalar function around
[
45]. Accordingly, we can use Taylor’s Theorem [
44]
As
and
, the last equation reduces to
The error is proportional to
, where
because the laminar interval is also small:
. Then, the lower-order non-zero derivative governs Series (
18). Accordingly, this theory works accurately for
.
3. Real Exponent
In the previous section, we studied the RPD evaluation for maps where the exponent is limited to integer numbers or rational numbers , where j is an integer number.
Here, the formulation presented in
Section 2 is extended to maps that can generate exponents
and
represented by any real number (integer, rational, and irrational). At pre-reinjection points, the map derivatives verify
where
q is an integer number,
. Therefore, from Equation (
11), the limit
is indeterminate. Note the theory developed in previous papers and described in
Section 2 does not include these cases. To solve it, we approximate
as
Therefore, the derivative
results in
If we introduce Equations (
22) and (
23) into Equation (
21), we obtain
To evaluate
(see Equation (
22)) for maps
verifying
and
for
, we calculate the inverse of
and approximate it by
where
, and
is calculated by Equation (
16). If the derivatives of
satisfy
Therefore, using Equation (
17), we obtain
, where
. Now, following Equations (
21) and (
24), the exponent
results in
However, we could find that the derivatives
are zero for
and the derivative
tends to infinity at
:
In this case, we cannot directly apply Equation (
17). Then, we use Equation (
22) and approximate the inverse function of
as
where
and
is a constant. If the derivatives of
verify
Then,
, and
can be approximated by
Accordingly, the exponent
results in (see Equation (
27))
Note that
q in Equation (
27) is called
in Equation (
32).
On the other hand, if
verifies Equation (
28), we can generalize Equations (
27) and (
32) as follows
Consequently, a simple continued fraction determines the exponent , where with are positive integer numbers and is zero or a positive integer number.
Once
is obtained, we can evaluate
using Equation (
4). Therefore, the exponent
also can be written as a continued fraction
Then,
and
are determined by simple continued fractions [
46,
47].
where
are called partial quotients, and they depend on the map derivatives at pre-reinjection points.
If the simple continued fractions provided by Equation (
35) are finite,
and
are rational numbers. However, if Equation (
35) includes infinite simple continued fractions,
and
are irrational numbers [
46,
47]. Therefore, the
and
exponents can acquire integer, rational, and irrational numbers. Accordingly, the dynamic of the non-linear reinjection map determines the exponents
and
together with their associated continued fractions.
On the other hand, the characteristic relation determines the evolution of the average laminar length
as a function of the control parameter
:
, where the average laminar length is
where
is the laminar length,
is the highest laminar length, and
is the laminar interval.
For type I, II, and III intermittencies, the characteristic relation can be written as
[
2,
6,
7]. For several cases, the exponent of the characteristic relation satisfies
[
6,
7]. Accordingly, for these cases,
is also provided by a continued fraction.
We note that Equation (
33) can be related to the Gauss map. We can write this equation as
where the sequence
verifies
where
is the integer part of
. Equation (
38) is the Gauss map [
48,
49].
If we relate Equations (
37) and (
38), we obtain the following relation
Therefore, once we know , we can calculate and , where the partial quotients are the highest-order derivative equal to zero of the map.
Any irrational number has a unique representation by continued fractions. Accordingly, the golden mean
is described by a simple continued fraction. Let us define the following ratio
where
are the Fibonacci numbers [
2]
From Equation (
40), the golden mean can be calculated
Let us analyze a particular case for the reinjection mechanism:
. Accordingly, the following equation must be satisfied
which possesses as a solution the golden mean
. Therefore, we obtain
.
On the other hand, the
M function methodology establishes that the exponent
is [
6,
7,
38]
where
m is a free parameter that can be calculated from the data series. For the particular case
, we find
.
In consequence, for
, there is a particular reinjection process that generates the following RPD function
Indirect Reinjection Mechanism
We analyze the indirect reinjection process, in which pre-reinjection points spend more than one iteration to reinject in the laminar zone.
Let us start with points
close to a point with zero derivatives that need more than one interaction to reinject. Therefore, the map is a composition of functions
where
is the only function that possesses a point with zero derivative at
, which is mapped inside the laminar interval by consecutive application of the single functions
forming the complete map
where
L is the laminar interval.
In this case, the exponent
to determine the complete RPD function is calculated by applying Equation (
11) only to function
instead of using it regarding the composed map
[
39].
Let us consider the indirect reinjection for the composed Map (
46) when the function
verifies
Because the derivative tends to infinity at
, we have to use the inverse map of Equation (
46), which is provided by
where the function
is the inverse of
. The
function possesses an extreme point at
, which corresponds with the infinite slope of the map at
. The other
functions with
do not have extreme points. To determine the exponents
,
, and the RPD function for the composed Map (
46), we analyze the function
by applying the methodology described in this section.
5. Conclusions
Based on the well-confirmed results for several one-dimensional maps, the reinjection probability density function can be approached by the power law provided by Equation (
2). In this work, we analyze how that RPD function is generated in return maps. We show that the non-uniform RPD is generated around pre-reinjection points where the map derivative verifies
or
. Based on this fact, we present an analytical methodology providing the RPD function; henceforth, by simple calculus, it is possible to evaluate the RPD function provided by Equation (
2). In particular, we propose a scheme that provides the exponent
without any restriction on the possible values of it.
Once the exponent is obtained, the value of the characteristic relation exponent is also calculated. This analytical estimation is compared with numerical results showing good agreement between both.
The exponent
depends on the return map at pre-reinjection points. From Equation (
9),
is a function of the parameter
. Therefore, to describe the reinjection mechanism is necessary to calculate the exponent
. We introduce a methodology to evaluate
directly from the map, which includes the previous studies as particular cases. The new scheme allows
and
to acquire any real number.
Additionally, this paper relates the continued fractions with the reinjection process in chaotic intermittency. The exponents and are provided by simple continued fractions. Furthermore, the exponent of the characteristic relation can be defined by continued fractions.
We find two general cases:
Let
be a one-dimensional map defined by Equation (
6). If, for a positive integer
q,
with
and
and finite, the exponent
is an integer number.
Let
be a one-dimensional map defined by Equation (
6). If, for a positive integer
q,
with
and
, the exponent
is a non-integer real number with
.
Also, we can establish:
- 3.
Let
be a one-dimensional map defined by Equation (
6). If
, the exponent
is a real number that verifies
.
- 4.
Let
be a function defined by Equation (
25). If, for a positive integer
q,
with
and
, a new partial quotient is added in Equation (
34).
- 5.
Let
be a one-dimensional map defined by Equation (
6). A constant RPD function is recovered if the map derivative at pre-reinjection points is different to zero and finite.
Three numerical studies for different maps validate the new methodology. Two maps show type II intermittency and the third has type I intermittency. On the other hand, two maps have only one reinjection mechanism, and the remaining map possesses two reinjection processes. Aside from this, we compare the new theoretical results with those calculated by validated methodologies such as the M function and the Perron–Frobenius operator technique. The new theory works very accurately in all tests.
We highlight that only with the map equation the new theory allows us to evaluate the fundamental statistical variables for describing chaotic intermittency. If we know the map, we do not need to work with numerical or experimental data series to understand the intermittency behavior.
Note that the laminar map determines the intermittencies type. On the other hand, the chaotic zone of the map specifies the RPD function. Therefore, the new methodology could be utilized in systems possessing other intermittencies.