This dissertation consists of two parts, each of which considers a different research area related to random interval maps. In the first part we are interested in random interval maps that are... Show moreThis dissertation consists of two parts, each of which considers a different research area related to random interval maps. In the first part we are interested in random interval maps that are critically intermittent. In Chapter 2 we consider a large class of such systems and demonstrate the existence of a phase transition, where the absolutely continuous invariant measure changes between finite and infinite. For a closely related class we derive in Chapter 3 statistical properties like decay of correlations and the Central Limit Theorem. In Chapter 4 we investigate whether a similar phase transition remains to exist when the critical behaviour is toned down. Random interval maps can also be used to generate number expansions, which will be the main object of study in the second part. In Chapter 5 we generalize Lochs’ Theorem, which compares the efficiency between representing real numbers in decimal expansions and regular continued fraction expansions, to a wide class of pairs of random interval maps that produce number expansions. Closely related to this result, we study in Chapter 6 the efficiency of beta-encoders as a potential source for pseudo-random number generation by comparing the output of a beta-encoder with its corresponding binary expansion. Show less
Synchronization of neurons forming a network with a hierarchical structure is essential for the brain to be able to function optimally. In this paper we study synchronization of phase oscillators... Show moreSynchronization of neurons forming a network with a hierarchical structure is essential for the brain to be able to function optimally. In this paper we study synchronization of phase oscillators on the most basic example of such a network, namely, the hierarchical lattice. Each site of the lattice carries an oscillator that is subject to noise. Pairs of oscillators interact with each other at a strength that depends on their hierarchical distance, modulated by a sequence of interaction parameters. We look at block averages of the oscillators on successive hierarchical scales, which we think of as block communities. In the limit as the number of oscillators per community tends to infinity, referred to as the hierarchical mean-field limit, we find a separation of time scales, i.e., each block community behaves like a single oscillator evolving on its own time scale. We argue that the evolution of the block communities is given by a renormalized mean-field noisy Kuramoto equation, with a synchronization level that depends on the hierarchical scale of the block community. We find three universality classes for the synchronization levels on successive hierarchical scales, characterized in terms of the sequence of interaction parameters. What makes our model specifically challenging is the non-linearity of the interaction between the oscillators. The main results of our paper therefore come in three parts: (I) a conjecture about the nature of the renormalisation transformation connecting successive hierarchical scales; (II) a truncation approximation that leads to a simplified renormalization transformation; (III) a rigorous analysis of the simplified renormalization transformation. We provide compelling arguments in support of (I) and (II), but a full verification remains an open problem. Show less
