The Feigenbaum bifurcation refers to a phenomenon observed in nonlinear
dynamical systems where a system undergoes repeated period-doubling
bifurcations as a parameter is varied. These bifurcations lead to increasingly
complex behavior, ultimately resulting in chaos. It’s named after Mitchell
Feigenbaum, who discovered certain universal constants that describe the rate
at which these bifurcations occur.
Let’s break it down:
1. Bifurcation in Dynamical Systems
A bifurcation occurs when a small change in a parameter of the system causes
a qualitative change in its long-term behavior. For instance:
Before bifurcation: The system might have a stable periodic orbit.
After bifurcation: The system might exhibit a new type of periodic orbit,
with a period twice as long as the original one, or it might become chaotic.
2. Period-Doubling Bifurcation
In period-doubling bifurcations, the system's periodic orbit doubles in length. For
example:
Period-1 orbit: The system repeats after one cycle.
Period-2 orbit: The system repeats after two cycles.
Period-4 orbit: The system repeats after four cycles, and so on.
This process continues as the system parameter is varied, leading to period-8,
period-16, and so on. At a certain point, the system becomes chaotic as the
period approaches infinity.
3. Feigenbaum Bifurcation and the Feigenbaum Constants
Feigenbaum discovered that the ratio of the distance between consecutive
period-doubling bifurcations tends to a universal constant, known as the
Feigenbaum constant (approximately 4.669). This universality suggests that
systems undergoing period-doubling bifurcations follow a predictable path
toward chaos.
4. Two Limit Points in Period-2 Orbit
Now let’s consider how period-doubling can result in two limit points.
Before the first bifurcation: The system has a stable period-1 orbit (or
cycle), meaning there is a single point (or region) to which the system
always returns. This point acts as the limit point of the system.
After the first bifurcation: The system now has a period-2 orbit.
Instead of one stable point, there are now two points in the phase space to
which the system alternates back and forth. These two points are both
limit points, as the system will settle on these two points indefinitely in a
periodic manner.
Thus, after the first bifurcation, we have two limit points, which are part of the
periodic-2 orbit. These points are the states the system will alternate between.
5. Further Bifurcations and Chaos
Period-4 orbit: After the next bifurcation, the system now alternates
among four limit points.
Period-8 orbit: With further bifurcations, the system oscillates among
eight limit points.
As the system continues undergoing bifurcations, the number of limit points
keeps doubling until the system becomes chaotic, where the notion of distinct
limit points breaks down, and the system’s behavior becomes more
unpredictable.
6. Chaotic Regime
When the system becomes chaotic, it no longer repeats its trajectory, but it may
still exhibit strange attractors or fractal-like structures in the phase space
where points accumulate. These are more complex "limit sets" than simple limit
points.
Example: The Logistic Map
A classic example of the Feigenbaum bifurcation can be seen in the logistic
map:
xn+1=rxn(1−xn)x_{n+1} = r x_n (1 - x_n)
Where rr is a parameter. As rr is increased:
For small rr, the system has a stable period-1 orbit.
As rr increases, the system undergoes a period-doubling bifurcation, first
to a period-2 orbit (two limit points), then period-4, period-8, and so on.
At a certain critical value of rr, the system becomes chaotic.
Conclusion:
In the context of the Feigenbaum bifurcation, a cycle can indeed have two limit
points (or more, after further bifurcations) due to period-doubling. In a period-2
orbit, for example, the system oscillates between two distinct points in its phase
space, and these two points are the limit points of the orbit. As the system
undergoes further bifurcations, the number of limit points continues to double
until the system enters a chaotic regime.
