Seminar Entropy and Chaos, Winter Semester 2026/27

Prof. Dr. Joachim Lohkamp, Lawrence Lo

Although many natural phenomena can be described by deterministic laws, sensitivity to initial conditions can lead to unpredictable behavior. The notion of (topological) entropy quantifies how fast information about a system's initial state is lost over time, providing a rigorous measure of its chaotic behavior. Well-known examples include the unpredictability of weather (a.k.a. the butterfly effect) and the double pendulum.

The aim of the seminar is to get an overview of the mathematical theory of entropy and chaos, and, depending on the interests of the participants, to discuss some of its connections to other areas of mathematics, like fractals or topological dynamics, or its applications in other fields, like physics and biology. This seminar is intended for students in the later stages of their Bachelor's or Master's studies. Some mathematical maturity is required, but no prior knowledge of dynamical systems is assumed, though the accompanying lecture will prove useful.

If you are interested in attending or presenting, please contact Lawrence at llo@uni-muenster.de as soon as possible.

The preliminary meeting for the seminar will take place on Thursday, 15th of October at 2 pm in the „Lichthof“, 3rd floor, Einsteinstr. 62. Participation after this date is also possible, so please get in contact.