Exceptional points in nonlinear and stochastic dynamics

Abstract: We study a class of bifurcations generically occurring in dynamical systems with non-mutual couplings ranging from models of coupled neurons to predator-prey systems and non-linear oscillators. In these bifurcations, extended attractors such as limit cycles, limit tori, and strange attractors merge and split in a similar way as fixed points in a pitchfork bifurcation. We show that this merging and splitting coincides with the coalescence of covariant Lyapunov vectors with vanishing Lyapunov exponents, generalizing the notion of exceptional points to non-linear dynamical systems. We distinguish two classes of bifurcations, corresponding respectively to continuous and discontinuous behaviors of the covariant Lyapunov vectors at the transition. We outline some physical consequences of generalized exceptional points on the dynamics of the system, including non-reciprocal responses, the destruction of isochrons, and enhanced sensitivity to noise. We illustrate our results with concrete examples from neuroscience, ecology, and physics. When applied to interpret existing experimental observations, our analysis suggests a simple explanation for the non-trivial phase delays observed in the population dynamics of plankton communities and the recently measured statistics of rotation reversals for a solid body immersed in a Rayleigh-B\'enard convection cell.