Chaotic dynamics of one-dimensional systems with periodic boundary conditions

Lyapunov Spectra of Coulombic and Gravitational Periodic Systems

An open question in nonlinear dynamics is the relation between the Kolmogorov entropy and the largest Lyapunov exponent of a given orbit. Both have been shown to have diagnostic capability for phase transitions in thermodynamic systems. For systems with long-range interactions, the choice of boundary plays a critical role and appropriate boundary conditions must be invoked. In this work, we compute Lyapunov spectra for Coulombic and gravitational versions of the one-dimensional systems of parallel sheets with periodic boundary conditions. Exact expressions for time evolution of the tangent-space vectors are derived and are utilized toward computing Lypaunov characteristic exponents using an event-driven algorithm. The results indicate that the energy dependence of the largest Lyapunov exponent emulates that of Kolmogorov entropy for each system for a given system size. Our approach forms an effective and approximation-free instrument for studying the dynamical properties exhibited by the Coulombic and gravitational systems and finds applications in investigating indications of thermodynamic transitions in small as well as large versions of the spatially periodic systems. When a phase transition exists, we find that the largest Lyapunov exponent serves as a precursor of the transition that becomes more pronounced as the system size increases.

Thermodynamics of a one-dimensional self-gravitating gas with periodic boundary conditions

We study the thermodynamic properties of a one-dimensional gas with one-dimensional gravitational interactions. Periodic boundary conditions are implemented as a modification of the potential consisting of a sum over mirror images (Ewald sum), regularized with an exponential cutoff. As a consequence, each particle carries with it its own background density. Using mean-field theory, we show that the system has a phase transition at a critical temperature. Above the critical temperature the gas density is uniform, while below the critical point the system becomes inhomogeneous. Numerical simulations of the model, which include the caloric curve, the equation of state, the radial distribution function, and the largest Lyapunov exponent, confirm the existence of the phase transition, and they are in good agreement with the theoretical predictions.

Dynamics of Coulombic and gravitational periodic systems

We study the dynamics and the phase-space structures of Coulombic and self-gravitating versions of the classical one-dimensional three-body system with periodic boundary conditions. We demonstrate that such a three-body system may be reduced isomorphically to a spatially periodic system of a single particle experiencing a two-dimensional potential on a rhombic plane. For the case of both Coulombic and gravitational versions, exact expressions of the Hamiltonian have been derived in rhombic coordinates. We simulate the phase-space evolution through an event-driven algorithm that utilizes analytic solutions to the equations of motion. The simulation results show that the motion exhibits chaotic, quasiperiodic, and periodic behaviors in segmented regions of the phase space. While there is no evidence of global chaos in either the Coulombic or the gravitational system, the former exhibits a transition from a completely nonchaotic phase space at low energies to a mixed behavior. Gradual yet striking transitions from mild to intense chaos are indicated with changing energy, a behavior that differentiates the spatially periodic systems studied in this Rapid Communication from the well-understood free-boundary versions of the three-body problem. Our treatment of the three-body systems opens avenues for analysis of the dynamical properties exhibited by spatially periodic versions of various classes of systems studied in plasma and gravitational physics as well as in cosmology.