The Central Island - Diagonal Symmetries
The Central Island - Diagonal Symmetries
The circular orbits are observed to have
6 different types of symmetry.
There is a D2 (rectangular) symmetry
of the map, generated by (x, y) -> (y, x) and (x, y) -> (-x, -y). This D2
symmetry about the origin induces a D2 symmetry about the corner of the
rhombus, which is generated by two reflections that are shown in the figure,
namely the upper-right (UR) diagonal, and the down-right (DR) diagonal.
The circular orbits are classified and color-coded as to whether they:
    (T) Touch the line of symmetry,
    (S) are Symmetric under the reflection but don't touch, or
    (N) are Not symmetric, in which case there is a pair of orbits.
All of the pairs observed here
are obtained from the pair of initial conditions (x, y) and (-x, -y).
Note: If we had observed orbits with symmetry type (N,N),
then we would have to classify the whether the orbit was S or N under the
inversion about the center of the figure.
UR DR Color(s)
T S Black
S T Blue
S S Brown
N T Red & Green
T N Cyan & Magenta
S N Purple & Orange
The `chaotic' orbits whose initial contions are given in
`The Central Island' all have
symmetry
(T,T), meaning they touch both lines of reflection.
Click on the figure (or here) to see
`local' reflection symmetries.
The Central Island (no lines)
   
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