Estimation of the persistence of strain from a time series as a measure of the geometry of an attractor (Q1196038)

A chaotic dynamics is characterized by the stretching and folding of two nearby trajectories in the state space. The stretching and folding properties of nearby trajectories are related to the complex eigenvalues of the tangent map matrix, and can be quantified by the Lyapunov exponent spectrum and by the persistence of strain [\textit{G. Benettin}, \textit{L. Galgani}, \textit{A. Giorgilli} and \textit{J.-M. Strelcyn}, Meccanica 15, 9-20 (1980; Zbl 0488.70015), \textit{E. Dresselhaus} and \textit{M. Tabor}, J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 22, 971-984 (1989)]. While the Lyapunov exponent is only concerned with the real part of the eigenvalues of the tangent map matrix, the persistence of strain deals with both the real and complex parts of these eigenvalues. As a consequence, the Lyapunov exponent spectrum is a measure of the stretching properties of nearby trajectories, while the persistence of strain measures both their stretching and folding properties. In the paper under review, a comparison between the spectrum of Lyapunov exponents and the persistence of strain, as measures of a strange attractor, is provided. A method to estimate the persistence of strain from an experimental time series is also outlined. The suitability of the persistence of strain to measure the balance between the stretching and folding properties is especially emphasized.