Propagation of round-off error in a model of quadratic rational rotations. (Q1406797)

The authors investigate the propagation of round-off errors for a dynamical system given by a planar rotation by a rational angle, where the space is discretized uniformly to a lattice, in such a way as to retain invertibility. The system parameters are algebraic numbers of degree two. By embedding this map into a suitable piecewise isometry, and exploiting exact scaling properties of the latter, the authors show that the transport generated by round-off errors is anomalous, featuring a power-law increase in the moments of the probability distribution, modulated by logarithmically periodic or, in one interesting case, quasi-periodic oscillations (an unusual phenomenon). Because all quantities involved are algebraic numbers, and the phase space renormalization is exact, all computations of orbits and associated probabilities are performed exactly.