Dynamical Systems and Fixed Points at noon on April 12 in Olin 268

Student Colloquium talk by Professor Aimee Johnson of Swarthmore College

Abstract:  We all wish we could see into the future!  In dynamical systems, we formalize what this might mean and explore to what extent it might be done.  One useful tool in this task is to investigate the fixed points of the system.  In this talk, we will explore three different examples of dynamical systems, find the fixed points for each one, and then see how they can help us learn about other points in the system.  In this way, we can try to tell a little bit about the future (at least for these examples!).