Non-Integrable Dynamics: Time-Quantitative Results

The theory of dynamical systems is on the most part about the qualitative behavior of typical orbits and not about individual orbits. Thus, our study deviates from, and indeed is in complete contrast to, what is considered the mainstream research in dynamical systems. We establish non-trivial results concerning explicit individual orbits and describe their long-term behavior in a precise time-quantitative way. Our non-ergodic approach gives rise to a few new methods. These are based on a combination of ideas in combinatorics, number theory, geometry and linear algebra.

Approximately half of this monograph is devoted to a time-quantitative study of two concrete simple non-integrable flat dynamical systems. The first concerns billiard in the L-shape region which is equivalent to geodesic flow on the L-surface. The second concerns geodesic flow on the surface of the unit cube. In each, we give a complete description of time-quantitative equidistribution for every geodesic with a quadratic irrational slope.