Arnol'd cat map lattices

Abstract: We construct Arnol'd cat map lattice field theories in phase space and configuration space. In phase space we impose that the evolution operator of the linearly coupled maps be an element of the symplectic group, in direct generalization of the case of one map. To this end we exploit the correspondence between the cat map and the Fibonacci sequence. The chaotic properties of these systems can be, also, understood from the equations of motion in configuration space, where they describe inverted harmonic oscillators, with the runaway behavior of the potential competing with the toroidal compactification of the phase space. We highlight the spatio-temporal chaotic properties of these systems using standard benchmarks for probing deterministic chaos of dynamical systems, namely the complete dense set of unstable periodic orbits, which, for long periods, lead to ergodicity and mixing. The spectrum of the periods exhibits a strong dependence on the strength and the range of the interaction.