periodic attractor

Also called a limit cycle attractor, an attractor that consists of a periodic movement back and forth between two or more values. The periodic attractor represents more possibilities for system behavior than does the fixed-point attractor. An example of a period two attractor is the oscillating movement of a metronome or, in psychiatry, a bipolar disorder that causes a person's mood to shift back and forth from elation to depression.

Related category

• CHAOS, COMPLEXITY, AND DYNAMICAL SYSTEMS

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