BASIN OF ATTRACTION
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 243 ▶ |
| Object type | General information, Methodology or model |
The region that includes all the trajectories corresponding to an attractor in a system's dynamics.
A specific basin corresponds to each attractor.
The global state space consists of a set of basins, that are isolated from each other by separatrixes. In the neighborhood of a saddle, basins limits become unstable, and a trajectory can jump from one basin to another (A catastrophe event).
This abstract concept can be intuitively visualized through the example of a river basin, in which flows circulate in a structured space. The general character of a basin implies, in K. KRIPPENDORFF's words:“… that no state in one basin succeeds or is succeeded by states in another basin and any two states in one basin share at least one preceeding state or successor” (1986, p.5-6). Every basin thus defines some specific dynamics, and inhibits any other.
To different kinds of attractors correspond different types of basins.