Mikrowelt: Bose-Einstein-Kondensat/Photonenstatistik
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1st Slide
Branching Point
Module: Mikrowelt: Bose-Einstein-Kondensat/Photonenstatistik
Sequence: lev0_start
Branching Point: Particles and Light under Control
Slide: Functional Principle of the Paul Trap
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Limit Cycle
A less introvert dynamical system will reach its balance in a somehow cyclic motion, for instance (idealized as a circle in the figure), i.e. in a closed line in phase space. Frictional losses are compensated for by external energy uptake. Our pulse beat is a good example, we don't need a cyclic forcing (pacemaker) in general.
When such a limit cycle (attractor) is entered, the dimensionality of motion reduces as well, in the figure from two (plane) to one (line). Another important aspect comes to the fore: the system is strictly periodic, i.e. it returns exactly to every possible starting point on the attractor.
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