Related papers: Cayley-Type Conditions for Billiards within $k$ Qu…
We generalize the following simple geometric fact: the only centrally symmetric convex curve of constant width is a circle. Billiard interpretation of the condition of constant width reads: a planar curve has constant width, if and only if,…
In this work the confined domains for a point-like particle propagating within the boundary of an ideally reflecting paraboloid mirror are derived. Thereby it is proven that all consecutive flight parabola foci points lie on the surface of…
We illustrate some of the techniques to identify chaos signatures at the quantum level using as a guiding examples some systems where a particle is constrained to move on a radial symmetric, but non planar, surface. In particular, two…
We study periodic infinite billiards in the plane. We show that for rational models, some particular obstacles can be added periodically, so that the billiard flow in the resulting table is recurrent in almost every direction.
We study stochastic billiards on general tables: a particle moves according to its constant velocity inside some domain ${\mathcal D} \subset {\mathbb R}^d$ until it hits the boundary and bounces randomly inside according to some reflection…
Chaos, namely exponential sensitivity to initial conditions, is generally considered a nuisance, inasmuch as it prevents long-term predictions in physical systems. Here, we present an easily accessible approach to undo deterministic chaos…
This survey is based on a series of talks I gave at the conference "Dynamical systems and diophantine approximation" at l'Instut Henri Poincar\'e in June 2003. I will present asymptotic results (transitivity, ergodicity, weak-mixing) for…
We consider billiards obtained by removing three strictly convex obstacles satisfying the non-eclipse condition on the plane. The restriction of the dynamics to the set of non-escaping orbits is conjugated to a subshift on three symbols…
The configuration manifold $M$ of a mechanical system consisting of two unconstrained rigid bodies in $\mathbb{R}^n$, $n\geq 1$, is a manifold with boundary (typically with singularities.) A complete description of the system requires…
We consider a random billiard map, the one in which the standard specular reflection rule is replaced by a random reflection given by a Markov operator. We exhibit an invariant measure for random billiards on general tables. In the special…
We study the classical and quantum mechanics of a three-dimensional stadium billiard. It consists of two quarter cylinders that are rotated with respect to each other by 90 degrees, and it is classically chaotic. The billiard exhibits only…
We investigate a rotated, orthogonal gravitational wedge billiard - a special case of the asymmetric wedge billiard - in which the dynamics are integrable. We derive equations and conditions under which periodic orbits may be constructed…
Within classical optics, one may add microscopic "roughness" to a macroscopically flat mirror so that parallel rays of a given angle are reflected at different outgoing angles. Taking the limit (as the roughness becomes increasingly…
We consider outer billiard outside regular convex polygons. We deal with the case of regular polygons with $\{3,4,5,6,10\}$ sides, and we describe the symbolic dynamics of the map and compute the complexity of the language.
We study rational circular billiards. By viewing the trajectory formed after each reflection point to another inside the circle as the number of circle divisions into regions we derive a general formula for the number of division regions…
The elliptical stadium is a plane region bounded by a curve constructed by joining two half-ellipses by two parallel segments of equal length. The billiard inside it, as a map, generates a two parameters family of dynamical systems. It is…
Given a random map (T_1, T_2, T_3, T_4, p_1, p_2, p_3, p_4), we define a random billiard map on a surface of constant curvature (Euclidean plane, hyperbolic plane, or the sphere). The Liouville measure is invariant for this billiard map.…
The Poincar\'e problem is a model of two-dimensional internal waves in stable-stratified fluid. The chess billiard flow, a variation of a typical billiard flow, drives the formation behind and describes the evolution of these internal…
Lensed billiards are an extension of the notion of billiard dynamical systems obtained by adding a potential function of the form $C1_{\mathcal{A}}$, where $C$ is a real valued constant and $1_{\mathcal{A}}$ is the indicator function of an…
We introduce a new family of billiards which break time reversal symmetry in spite of having piece-wise straight trajectories. We show that our billiards preserve the ergodic and mixing properties of conventional billiards while they may…