We show that the probability of the appearance of synchronization in chaotic coupled map lattices is related to the distribution of the maximum of a certain observable evaluated along almost all orbits. We show that such a distribution belongs to the family of extreme value laws, whose parameters, namely the extremal index, allow us to get a detailed description of the probability of synchronization. Theoretical results are supported by robust numerical computations that allow us to go beyond the theoretical framework provided and are potentially applicable to physically relevant systems.

We study the asymptotic dynamics of maps which are piecewise contracting on a compact space. These maps are Lipschitz continuous, with Lipschitz constant smaller than one, when restricted to any piece of a finite and dense union of disjoint open pieces. We focus on the topological and the dynamical properties of the (global) attractor of the orbits that remain in this union. As a starting point, we show that the attractor consists of a finite set of periodic points when it does not intersect the boundary of a contraction piece, which complements similar results proved for more specific classes of piecewise contracting maps. Then, we explore the case where the attractor intersects these boundaries by providing examples that show the rich phenomenology of these systems. Due to the discontinuities, the asymptotic behaviour is not always properly represented by the dynamics in the attractor. Hence, we introduce generalized orbits to describe the asymptotic dynamics and its recurrence and transitivity properties. Our examples include transitive and recurrent attractors, that are either finite, countable, or a disjoint union of a Cantor set and a countable set. We also show that the attractor of a piecewise contracting map is usually a Lebesgue measure-zero set, and we give conditions ensuring that it is totally disconnected. Finally, we provide an example of piecewise contracting map with positive topological entropy and whose attractor is an interval.

In this paper, we consider the Frenkel-Kontorova model of a one dimensional chain of atoms submitted to a potential. This potential splits into an interaction potential and a potential induced by an underlying substrate which is a quasicrystal. Under standard hypotheses, we show that every minimal configuration has a rotation number, that the rotation number varies continuously with the minimal configuration, and that every non negative real number is the rotation number of a minimal configuration. This generalizes well known results obtained by S. Aubry and P.Y. le Daeron in the case of a crystalline substrate.Date: October 12, 2018.In this case it is natural to consider that a potential V associated with the crystal QC is a periodic C 2 -function with period L:This situation when the substrate potential is periodic has been described by S. Aubry and P. Y. Le Dearon. Their seminal work [AD], together with the independent approach of J. Mather [M], gave rise to the so called Aubry-Mather theory, which yields in particular a good understanding of minimal configurations.

We study the global dynamics of integrate and fire neural networks composed of an arbitrary number of identical neurons interacting by inhibition and excitation. We prove that if the interactions are strong enough, then the support of the stable asymptotic dynamics consists of limit cycles. We also find sufficient conditions for the synchronization of networks containing excitatory neurons. The proofs are based on the analysis of the equivalent dynamics of a piecewise continuous Poincaré map associated to the system. We show that for efficient interactions the Poincaré map is piecewise contractive. Using this contraction property, we prove that there exist a countable number of limit cycles attracting all the orbits dropping into the stable subset of the phase space. This result applies not only to the Poincaré map under study, but also to a wide class of general n-dimensional piecewise contractive maps.

Neurons transmit information as action potentials or spikes. Due to the inherent randomness of the inter-spike intervals (ISIs), probabilistic models are often used for their description. Cumulative damage (CD) distributions are a family of probabilistic models that has been widely considered for describing time-related cumulative processes. This family allows us to consider certain deterministic principles for modeling ISIs from a probabilistic viewpoint and to link its parameters to values with biological interpretation. The CD family includes the Birnbaum-Saunders and inverse Gaussian distributions, which possess distinctive properties and theoretical arguments useful for ISI description. We expand the use of CD distributions to the modeling of neural spiking behavior, mainly by testing the suitability of the Birnbaum-Saunders distribution, which has not been studied in the setting of neural activity. We validate this expansion with original experimental and simulated electrophysiological data.

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We study the complexity of the itineraries of injective piecewise contracting maps on the interval. We prove that for any such map the complexity function of any itinerary is eventually affine. We also prove that the growth rate of the complexity is bounded from above by the number N − 1 of discontinuities of the map. To show that this bound is optimal, we construct piecewise affine contracting maps whose itineraries all have the complexity (N − 1)n + 1. In these examples, the asymptotic dynamics takes place in a minimal Cantor set containing all the discontinuities.