Complexity and universality in dynamics

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The main theme of my research is the study of complex behaviour generated by simple dynamics. It is a well-known fact that a physical system guided by simple dynamical laws can be difficult to model and predict. A famous example of this is the Lorenz system, which describes a very simplified weather model. Even tiny differences in the initial conditions of the model may lead to a widely diverging weather predictions (a so-called butterfly effect). Nevertheless, it is generally believed that while individual predictions may differ, the overall picture of the dynamics remains the same, and may be simulated numerically. In the Lorenz example, the global weather patterns are described by the Lorenz butterfly attractor, which is a well-defined mathematical object. It is easily computed (indeed, the picture has become famous). In a series of recent works, we have tested the intuitive assumption that the attractor of a simple dynamical system can be modeled on a computer. Surprisingly, for an archetypical family, known as Julia sets, this is generally false. This work opens a chapter of research which is important for practitioners, as well as for theoretical dynamicists and computer scientists. My proposal lays out a plan of further study of these challenging questions.