Thesis (M.A..)--Marshall University, 2009. / Title from document title page. Includes abstract. Document formatted into pages: contains 95 pages. Includes bibliographical references p. 94-95.

We investigate the number of periodic points of certain discrete quadratic maps modulo prime numbers. We do so by first exploring previously known results for two particular quadratic maps, after which we explain why the methods used in these two cases are hard to adapt to a more general case. We then perform experiments and find striking patterns in the behaviour of these general cases which suggest that, apart from the two special cases, the number of periodic points of all quadratic maps of this type behave the same. Finally we formulate a conjecture to this effect.

As input ows of secondary raw materials show high volatility and tend to behave in a chaotic way, the identification of the main drivers of the dynamic behavior of returns plays a crucial role. Based on a stylized productionrecycling system consisting of a set of nonlinear difference equations, we explicitly derive parameter constellations where the system will or will not converge to its equilibrium. Using a constant elasticity of substitution production function, the model is then extended to enable coverage of real world situations. Using waste paper as a reference raw material, we empirically estimate the parameters of the system. By using these regression results, we are able to show that the equilibrium solution is a Lyapunov unstable saddle point. This implies that the system is sensitive on initial conditions that will hence impede the predictability of product returns. Small variations of production input proportions could however stabilize the whole system. (authors' abstract)

According to the work of Dennis Sullivan, there exists a smooth flow on the 5-sphere all of whose orbits are periodic although there is no uniform bound on their periods. The question addressed in this thesis is whether such an example can occur in the partially hyperbolic context. That is, does there exist a partially hyperbolic diffeomorphism of a compact manifold such that all the leaves of its center foliation are compact although there is no uniform bound for their volumes. We will show that the answer to the previous question under the very mild hypothesis of dynamical coherence is no. The thesis is organized as follows. In the first chapter we give the necessary background and results in partially hyperbolic dynamics needed for the rest of the work, studying in particular the geometry of the center foliation. Chapter two is devoted to a general discussion of compact foliations. We give proof or sketches of all the relevant results used. Chapter three is the core of the thesis, where we establish the non existence of Sullivan's type of examples in the partially hyperbolic domain, and generalize to diffeomorphisms whose center foliation has arbitrary dimension. The last chapter is devoted to applications of the results of chapter three, where in particular it is proved that if the center foliation of a dynamically coherent partially hyperbolic diffeomorphism is compact and without holonomy, then it is plaque expansive.

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