Scaling of the dynamical properties of the Fermi-Ulam accelerator model

Abstract

The chaotic sea below the lowest energy spanning curve of the complete Fermi-Ulam model (FUM) is numerically investigated when the amplitude of oscillation 'epsilon' of the moving wall is small. We use scaling analysis near the integrable to non-integrable transition to describe the average energy as function of time t and as function of iteration (or collision) number n. If t is employed as independent variable, the exponents related to the energy scaling properties of the FUM are different from the ones of a well known simplification of this model (SFUM). However, if n is employed as independent variable, the exponents are the same for both FUM and SFUM. In the collision number analysis, we present analytical arguments supporting that the exponents c* and b* related to the initial velocity and to 'epsilon' are given by c* = -1/2 and b* = -1. We derive also a relation connecting the scaling exponents related to the variables time and collision number. Moreover, we show that, differently from the SFUM, the average energy in the FUM saturates for long times and we justify the physical origins for some differences and similarities observed between the FUM and its simplification.