COMPUTATIONAL ENVIRONMENTS FOR EXPLORING DYNAMICAL SYSTEMS

Abstract

Nonlinear dynamical-system models are ubiquitous throughout the sciences and engineering. Efficient computational analysis of specific dynamical systems is often a critical component for the successful completion of a research or design project. The enormous increase in the computational capability of desktop computers presents an opportunity for corresponding increases in our ability to explore dynamical models efficiently. Doing so requires that a suitable computational environment be established that gives the user interactive access to algorithms, graphical displays and data management tools. This paper is an overview of what such an environment might look like. The program kaos is a prototype that is oriented towards the computation of multiparameter bifurcation diagrams.