Limit Cycle
Slide__JzgagKOfEd-WfYQ0GneCwQ_footer=Source\: Vienna Technical University
Slide__JzgagKOfEd-WfYQ0GneCwQ_subTitle=A less introvert dynamical system will reach its balance in a somehow cyclic motion, for instance (idealized as a circle in the figure), i.e. in a closed line in phase space. Frictional losses are compensated for by external energy uptake. Our pulse beat is a good example, we don't need a cyclic forcing (pacemaker) in general.When such a limit cycle (attractor) is entered, the dimensionality of motion reduces as well, in the figure from two (plane) to one (line). Another important aspect comes to the fore\: the system is strictly periodic, i.e. it returns exactly to every possible starting point on the attractor.