Writing the history of dynamical systems and chaos: `Longue durée' and revolution, disciplines and cultures (Q1851224)

The authors develop a socio-historical, pertinent analysis of dynamical systems theory, also called deterministic chaos theory (depending on the position of the specialists interested in the matter). The study is structured into 4 main sections, as follows: The longue-durée history of dynamical systems theory, presented as characterized by temporal ruptures and transfer of methods, as well as by interdisciplinarity and frequent invocations and returns to the past (the name of Poincaré being always mentioned; Local reconfiguration (Smale, Lorenz, Ruelle), devoted to the convergence and reconfiguration of chaos, developing in the 1960s; Converqence and reconfiguration, discussing the rupture having occurred in the domain of chaos, which brought about, on the one hand, the socio-professional convergence among specialists from quite distant domains and, on the other hand, an intellectual reconfiguration of the newly-created research themes and orientations and experiments; The view from physics, referring to the period between 1970 and 1980, witnessing the settlement of the dual motion of convergence. An impressive bibliographical list should also be mentioned.