Strange Nonchaotic Attractors

Book excerpt: This book is the first monograph devoted exclusively to strange nonchaotic attractors (SNA), recently discovered objects with a special kind of dynamical behavior between order and chaos in dissipative nonlinear systems under quasiperiodic driving. A historical review of the discovery and study of SNA, mathematical and physically-motivated examples, and a review of known experimental studies of SNA are presented. The main focus is on the theoretical analysis of strange nonchaotic behavior by means of different tools of nonlinear dynamics and statistical physics (bifurcation analysis, Lyapunov exponents, correlations and spectra, renormalization group). The relations of the subject to other fields of physics such as quantum chaos and solid state physics are also discussed. Key Features Topics are suitable for various disciplines dealing with nonlinear dynamics (mechanics, physics, nonlinear optics, hydrodynamics, chemical kinetics, etc.) A variety of theoretical tools is supplied to reveal different characteristics of strange nonchaotic behavior Readership: Graduate students and researchers in nonlinear science.