Nonchaotic stagnant motion in a marginal quasiperiodic gradient system.

A one-dimensional dynamical system with a marginal quasiperiodic gradient is presented as a mathematical extension of a nonuniform oscillator. The system exhibits a nonchaotic stagnant motion, which is reminiscent of intermittent chaos. In fact, the density function of residence times near stagnation points obeys an inverse-square law, due to a mechanism similar to type-I intermittency. However, unlike intermittent chaos, in which the alternation between long stagnant phases and rapid moving phases occurs in a random manner, here the alternation occurs in a quasiperiodic manner. In particular, in the case of a gradient with the golden ratio, the renewal of the largest residence time occurs at positions corresponding to the Fibonacci sequence. Finally, the asymptotic long-time behavior, in the form of a nested logarithm, is theoretically derived. Compared with the Pomeau-Manneville intermittency, a significant difference in the relaxation property of the long-time average of the dynamical variable is found.