Fractal Fourier spectra of Cherry flows (Q5936238)

The author studies the flow on a torus \[ \dot x=1+\sin x-\sin x\sin y,\qquad \dot y=b+\cos x-K\cos x\cos y, \] which has two equilibria. The parameters \(b\) and \(K\) are chosen in such a way that the corresponding Poincaré map has the ``golden mean'' rotation number. The autocorrelation function of the observable \(\xi=\cos x\) is numerically computed both for the Cherry flow and Poincaré map. The qualitative difference between the corresponding power spectra is due to the long time, which a trajectory on the attractor spends near the saddle equilibrium. A symbolic coding of the dynamics can be modified to correctly reproduce the power spectrum of the Cherry flow.