Dynamical chaos is a fundamental manifestation of gravity in astrophysical, many-body systems. The spectrum of Lyapunov exponents quantifies the associated exponential response to small perturbations. Analytical derivations of these exponents are critical for understanding the stability and predictability of observed systems. This paper presents a new model for chaos in systems with eccentric and crossing orbits. Here, exponential divergence is not a continuous process but rather the cumulative effect of an ever-increasing linear response driven by discrete events at regular intervals, i.e. punctuated chaos. We show that long-lived systems with punctuated chaos can magnify Planck length perturbations to astronomical scales within their lifetime, rendering them fundamentally indeterministic.
Description
Punctuated Chaos and Indeterminism in Self-gravitating Many-body Systems
%0 Journal Article
%1 boekholt2023punctuated
%A Boekholt, Tjarda C. N.
%A Portegies Zwart, Simon F.
%A Heggie, Douglas C.
%B International Journal of Modern Physics D
%D 2023
%I World Scientific Publishing Co.
%J Int. J. Mod. Phys. D
%K astronomy chaos_theory n-body_problem orbital_motion
%N 14
%P 2342003--
%R 10.1142/S0218271823420038
%T Punctuated chaos and indeterminism in self-gravitating many-body systems
%U https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/10.1142/S0218271823420038
%V 32
%X Dynamical chaos is a fundamental manifestation of gravity in astrophysical, many-body systems. The spectrum of Lyapunov exponents quantifies the associated exponential response to small perturbations. Analytical derivations of these exponents are critical for understanding the stability and predictability of observed systems. This paper presents a new model for chaos in systems with eccentric and crossing orbits. Here, exponential divergence is not a continuous process but rather the cumulative effect of an ever-increasing linear response driven by discrete events at regular intervals, i.e. punctuated chaos. We show that long-lived systems with punctuated chaos can magnify Planck length perturbations to astronomical scales within their lifetime, rendering them fundamentally indeterministic.
@article{boekholt2023punctuated,
abstract = {Dynamical chaos is a fundamental manifestation of gravity in astrophysical, many-body systems. The spectrum of Lyapunov exponents quantifies the associated exponential response to small perturbations. Analytical derivations of these exponents are critical for understanding the stability and predictability of observed systems. This paper presents a new model for chaos in systems with eccentric and crossing orbits. Here, exponential divergence is not a continuous process but rather the cumulative effect of an ever-increasing linear response driven by discrete events at regular intervals, i.e. punctuated chaos. We show that long-lived systems with punctuated chaos can magnify Planck length perturbations to astronomical scales within their lifetime, rendering them fundamentally indeterministic.},
added-at = {2024-03-18T22:04:37.000+0100},
author = {Boekholt, Tjarda C. N. and Portegies Zwart, Simon F. and Heggie, Douglas C.},
biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/2f99ce56ba2887826d4f400723f919cb0/tabularii},
booktitle = {International Journal of Modern Physics D},
comment = {doi: 10.1142/S0218271823420038},
description = {Punctuated Chaos and Indeterminism in Self-gravitating Many-body Systems},
doi = {10.1142/S0218271823420038},
interhash = {a82fa097df10bde3bba8446ae90461e3},
intrahash = {f99ce56ba2887826d4f400723f919cb0},
issn = {02182718},
journal = {Int. J. Mod. Phys. D},
keywords = {astronomy chaos_theory n-body_problem orbital_motion},
month = jun,
number = 14,
pages = {2342003--},
publisher = {World Scientific Publishing Co.},
timestamp = {2024-03-18T22:21:05.000+0100},
title = {Punctuated chaos and indeterminism in self-gravitating many-body systems},
url = {https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/10.1142/S0218271823420038},
volume = 32,
year = 2023
}