Unpredictability, Uncertainty and Fractal Structures in Physics

Authors : Miguel A F SANJUAN

Pages : 43-46

View : 10 | Download : 11

Publication Date : 2021-11-30

Article Type : Editorial

Abstract :In Physics, we have laws that determine the time evolution of a given physical system, depending on its parameters and its initial conditions. When we have multi-stable systems, many attractors coexist so that their basins of attraction might possess fractal or even Wada boundaries in such a way that the prediction becomes more complicated depending on the initial conditions. Chaotic systems typically present fractal basins in phase space. A small uncertainty in the initial conditions gives rise to a certain unpredictability of the final state behavior. The new notion of basin entropy provides a new quantitative way to measure the unpredictability of the final states in basins of attraction. Simple methods from chaos theory can contribute to a better understanding of fundamental questions in physics as well as other scientific disciplines.
Keywords : unpredictability, fractal basins, basin entropy