David Ruelle

Bio: David Ruelle is an academic researcher from Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques. The author has contributed to research in topics: Statistical mechanics & Dynamical systems theory. The author has an hindex of 72, co-authored 230 publications receiving 31960 citations. Previous affiliations of David Ruelle include IHS Inc. & Carnegie Mellon University.

Ergodic theory of chaos and strange attractors

Abstract: Physical and numerical experiments show that deterministic noise, or chaos, is ubiquitous. While a good understanding of the onset of chaos has been achieved, using as a mathematical tool the geometric theory of differentiable dynamical systems, moderately excited chaotic systems require new tools, which are provided by the ergodic theory of dynamical systems. This theory has reached a stage where fruitful contact and exchange with physical experiments has become widespread. The present review is an account of the main mathematical ideas and their concrete implementation in analyzing experiments. The main subjects are the theory of dimensions (number of excited degrees of freedom), entropy (production of information), and characteristic exponents (describing sensitivity to initial conditions). The relations between these quantities, as well as their experimental determination, are discussed. The systematic investigation of these quantities provides us for the first time with a reasonable understanding of dynamical systems, excited well beyond the quasiperiodic regimes. This is another step towards understanding highly turbulent fluids.

Recurrence Plots of Dynamical Systems

Abstract: A new graphical tool for measuring the time constancy of dynamical systems is presented and illustrated with typical examples.

On the nature of turbulence

Abstract: A mechanism for the generation of turbulence and related phenomena in dissipative systems is proposed.

Statistical Mechanics: Rigorous Results

Abstract: Thermodynamic behaviour - ensembles the thermodynamic limit for thermodynamic functions - lattice systems the thermodynamic limit for thermodynamic functions - continuous systems low density expansions and correlation functions the problem of phase transitions group invariance of physical states the states of statistical mechanics Appendix: some mathematical tools

Liapunov exponents from time series.

Abstract: We analyze in detail an algorithm for computing Liapunov exponents from an experimental time series. As an application, a hydrodynamic experiment is investigated.

The Fractal Geometry of Nature

Abstract: "...a blend of erudition (fascinating and sometimes obscure historical minutiae abound), popularization (mathematical rigor is relegated to appendices) and exposition (the reader need have little knowledge of the fields involved) ...and the illustrations include many superb examples of computer graphics that are works of art in their own right." Nature

Synchronization in chaotic systems

Abstract: Certain subsystems of nonlinear, chaotic systems can be made to synchronize by linking them with common signals. The criterion for this is the sign of the sub-Lyapunov exponents. We apply these ideas to a real set of synchronizing chaotic circuits.

Pattern formation outside of equilibrium

Abstract: A comprehensive review of spatiotemporal pattern formation in systems driven away from equilibrium is presented, with emphasis on comparisons between theory and quantitative experiments. Examples include patterns in hydrodynamic systems such as thermal convection in pure fluids and binary mixtures, Taylor-Couette flow, parametric-wave instabilities, as well as patterns in solidification fronts, nonlinear optics, oscillatory chemical reactions and excitable biological media. The theoretical starting point is usually a set of deterministic equations of motion, typically in the form of nonlinear partial differential equations. These are sometimes supplemented by stochastic terms representing thermal or instrumental noise, but for macroscopic systems and carefully designed experiments the stochastic forces are often negligible. An aim of theory is to describe solutions of the deterministic equations that are likely to be reached starting from typical initial conditions and to persist at long times. A unified description is developed, based on the linear instabilities of a homogeneous state, which leads naturally to a classification of patterns in terms of the characteristic wave vector q0 and frequency ω0 of the instability. Type Is systems (ω0=0, q0≠0) are stationary in time and periodic in space; type IIIo systems (ω0≠0, q0=0) are periodic in time and uniform in space; and type Io systems (ω0≠0, q0≠0) are periodic in both space and time. Near a continuous (or supercritical) instability, the dynamics may be accurately described via "amplitude equations," whose form is universal for each type of instability. The specifics of each system enter only through the nonuniversal coefficients. Far from the instability threshold a different universal description known as the "phase equation" may be derived, but it is restricted to slow distortions of an ideal pattern. For many systems appropriate starting equations are either not known or too complicated to analyze conveniently. It is thus useful to introduce phenomenological order-parameter models, which lead to the correct amplitude equations near threshold, and which may be solved analytically or numerically in the nonlinear regime away from the instability. The above theoretical methods are useful in analyzing "real pattern effects" such as the influence of external boundaries, or the formation and dynamics of defects in ideal structures. An important element in nonequilibrium systems is the appearance of deterministic chaos. A greal deal is known about systems with a small number of degrees of freedom displaying "temporal chaos," where the structure of the phase space can be analyzed in detail. For spatially extended systems with many degrees of freedom, on the other hand, one is dealing with spatiotemporal chaos and appropriate methods of analysis need to be developed. In addition to the general features of nonequilibrium pattern formation discussed above, detailed reviews of theoretical and experimental work on many specific systems are presented. These include Rayleigh-Benard convection in a pure fluid, convection in binary-fluid mixtures, electrohydrodynamic convection in nematic liquid crystals, Taylor-Couette flow between rotating cylinders, parametric surface waves, patterns in certain open flow systems, oscillatory chemical reactions, static and dynamic patterns in biological media, crystallization fronts, and patterns in nonlinear optics. A concluding section summarizes what has and has not been accomplished, and attempts to assess the prospects for the future.