Some elements for a history of the dynamical systems theory

Abstract

Writing a history of a scientific theory is always difficult because it requires to focus on some key contributors and to “reconstruct” some supposed influences. In the 1970s, a new way of performing science under the name “chaos” emerged, combining the mathematics from the nonlinear dynamical systems theory and numerical simulations. To provide a direct testimony of how contributors can be influenced by other scientists or works, we here collected some writings about the early times of a few contributors to chaos theory. The purpose is to exhibit the diversity in the paths and to bring some elements—which were never published—illustrating the atmosphere of this period. Some peculiarities of chaos theory are also discussed.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
May 01, 2021
Source ID
10.1063/5.0047851

Entities

People

  • Arkady S. Pikovsky
  • Celso Grebogi
  • Christophe Letellier
  • Dima L. Shepelyansky
  • Ichiro Tsuda
  • Lars Folke Olsen
  • Leon Glass
  • Louis M Pecora
  • Otto E. Rössler
  • Philip Holmes
  • Ralph Abraham
  • René Lozi
  • Robert Gilmore
  • Thomas L. Carroll
  • Ulrich Parlitz

Organizations

  • Chubu University
  • Drexel University
  • Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization
  • McGill University
  • Office of Naval Research
  • Princeton University
  • United States Naval Research Laboratory
  • University of Aberdeen
  • University of California
  • University of Côte d'Azur
  • University of Göttingen
  • University of Potsdam
  • University of Toulouse (1896-1968)
  • University of Tübingen

Tags

Readers

  • Atmospheric Science / Meteorology, specifically Wind Wave Turbulence.
  • Economics
  • Theoretical Analysis.