1/7/2017 3-D Fractals Oer Clues to Complex Systems | Quanta Magazine

GEOMETRY

3DFractalsOfferCluestoComplexSystems
Byfoldingfractalsinto3Dobjects,amathematicalduohopestogainnewinsight
intosimpleequations.

Olena Shmahalo/Quanta Magazine; original figure by Laurent Bartholdi and Laura DeMarco
Ordinary equations can be transformed into complex 3-D figures that offer new questions to explore.

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https://www.quantamagazine.org/20170103-fractal-dynamics-from-3d-julia-sets/ 1/10
1/7/2017 3-D Fractals Oer Clues to Complex Systems | Quanta Magazine

By Kevin Hartnett
January 3, 2017

I fyoucameacrossananimalinthewildandwantedtolearnmoreaboutit,therearea
fewthingsyoumightdo:Youmightwatchwhatiteats,pokeittoseehowitreacts,and
evendissectitifyougotthechance.

Mathematiciansarenotsodifferentfromnaturalists.Ratherthanstudyingorganisms,they
studyequationsandshapesusingtheirowntechniques.Theytwistandstretch
mathematicalobjects,translatethemintonewmathematicallanguages,andapplythemto
newproblems.Astheyfindnewwaystolookatfamiliarthings,thepossibilitiesfor
insightmultiply.

Thatsthepromiseofanewideafromtwomathematicians:LauraDeMarco,aprofessorat
NorthwesternUniversity,andKathrynLindsey,apostdoctoralfellowattheUniversityof
Chicago.Theybeginwithaplainoldpolynomialequation,thekindgrudginglyfamiliarto
anyhighschoolmathstudent:f(x)=x21.Insteadofgraphingitorfindingitsroots,they
taketheunprecedentedstepoftransformingitintoa3Dobject.

Withpolynomials,everythingisdefinedinthetwodimensionalplane,Lindseysaid.
Thereisntanaturalplaceathirddimensionwouldcomeintoituntilyoustartthinking
abouttheseshapesLauraandIarebuilding.

The3Dshapesthattheybuildlookstrange,withbroadplains,subtlebendsandazigzag
seamthathintsathowtheobjectswereformed.DeMarcoandLindseyintroducethe
shapesinaforthcomingpaperintheArnoldMathematicalJournal,anewpublicationfrom
theInstituteforMathematicalSciencesatStonyBrookUniversity.Thepaperpresents
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whatlittleisknownabouttheobjects,suchashowtheyreconstructedandthe
measurementsoftheircurvature.DeMarcoandLindseyalsoexplainwhattheybelieveisa
promisingnewmethodofinquiry:Usingtheshapesbuiltfrompolynomialequations,they
hopetocometounderstandmoreabouttheunderlyingequationswhichiswhat
mathematiciansreallycareabout.

BreakingOutofTwoDimensions

Inmathematics,severalmotivatingfactorscanspurnewresearch.Oneisthequesttosolve
anopenproblem,suchastheRiemannhypothesis.Anotheristhedesiretobuild
mathematicaltoolsthatcanbeusedtodosomethingelse.Athirdtheonebehind
DeMarcoandLindseysworkistheequivalentoffindinganunidentifiedspeciesinthe
wild:Onejustwantstounderstandwhatitis.Thesearefascinatingandbeautifulthings
thatariseverynaturallyinoursubjectandshouldbeunderstood!DeMarcosaidbyemail,
referringtotheshapes.

Courtesy of Laura DeMarco

Laura DeMarco, a professor at Northwestern University.

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Itssortofbeenintheairforacoupleofdecades,buttheyrethefirstpeopletotrytodo
somethingwithit,saidCurtisMcMullen,amathematicianatHarvardUniversitywho
wontheFieldsMedal,mathshighesthonor,in1988.McMullenandDeMarcostarted
talkingabouttheseshapesintheearly2000s,whileshewasdoinggraduateworkwithhim
atHarvard.DeMarcothenwentofftodopioneeringworkapplyingtechniquesfrom
dynamicalsystemstoquestionsinnumbertheory,forwhichshewillreceivetheSatter
PrizeawardedtoaleadingfemaleresearcherfromtheAmericanMathematical
SocietyonJanuary5.

Meanwhile,in2010WilliamThurston,thelateCornellUniversitymathematicianand
FieldsMedalwinner,heardabouttheshapesfromMcMullen.Thurstonsuspectedthatit
mightbepossibletotakeflatshapescomputedfrompolynomialsandbendthemtocreate
3Dobjects.Toexplorethisidea,heandLindsey,whowasthenagraduatestudentat
Cornell,constructedthe3Dobjectsfromconstructionpaper,tapeandaprecisioncutting
devicethatThurstonhadonhandfromanearlierproject.Theresultwouldnthavebeen
outofplaceatanelementaryschoolartsandcraftsfair,andLindseyadmitsshewaskind
ofmystifiedbythewholething.

Ineverunderstoodwhyweweredoingthis,whatthepointwasandwhatwasgoingonin
hismindthatmadehimthinkthiswasreallyimportant,saidLindsey.Thenunfortunately
whenhedied,Icouldntaskhimanymore.Therewasthisbrilliantguywhosuggested
somethingandsaidhethoughtitwasanimportant,neatthing,soitsnaturaltowonder
Whatisit?Whatsgoingonhere?

In2014DeMarcoandLindseydecidedtoseeiftheycouldunwindthemathematical
significanceoftheshapes.

AFractalLinktoEntropy

Togeta3Dshapefromanordinarypolynomialtakesalittledoing.Thefirststepistorun
thepolynomialdynamicallythatis,toiterateitbyfeedingeachoutputbackintothe
polynomialasthenextinput.Oneoftwothingswillhappen:eitherthevalueswillgrow
infinitelyinsize,ortheyllsettleintoastable,boundedpattern.Tokeeptrackofwhich
startingvaluesleadtowhichofthosetwooutcomes,mathematiciansconstructtheJuliaset
ofapolynomial.TheJuliasetistheboundarybetweenstartingvaluesthatgoofftoinfinity
andvaluesthatremainboundedbelowagivenvalue.Thisboundarylinewhichdiffers
foreverypolynomialcanbeplottedonthecomplexplane,whereitassumesallmanner
ofhighlyintricate,swirling,symmetricfractaldesigns.

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Lucy Reading-Ikkanda for Quanta Magazine

IfyoushadetheregionboundedbytheJuliaset,yougetthefilledJuliaset.Ifyouuse
scissorsandcutoutthefilledJuliaset,yougetthefirstpieceofthesurfaceoftheeventual
3Dshape.Togetthesecond,DeMarcoandLindseywroteanalgorithm.Thatalgorithm
analyzesfeaturesoftheoriginalpolynomial,likeitsdegree(thehighestnumberthat
appearsasanexponent)anditscoefficients,andoutputsanotherfractalshapethat
DeMarcoandLindseycalltheplanarcap.

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TheJuliasetisthebase,likethesouthernhemisphere,andthecapislikethetophalf,
DeMarcosaid.Ifyougluethemtogetheryougetashapethatspolyhedral.

ThealgorithmwasThurstonsidea.WhenhesuggestedittoLindseyin2010,shewrotea
roughversionoftheprogram.SheandDeMarcoimprovedonthealgorithmintheirwork
togetherandproveditdoeswhatwethinkitdoes,Lindseysaid.Thatis,foreveryfilled
Juliaset,thealgorithmgeneratesthecorrectcomplementarypiece.

ThefilledJuliasetandtheplanarcaparetherawmaterialforconstructinga3Dshape,
butbythemselvestheydontgiveasenseofwhatthecompletedshapewilllooklike.This
createsachallenge.Whenpresentedwiththesixfacesofacubelaidflat,onecould
intuitivelyknowhowtofoldthemtomakethecorrect3Dshape.But,withalessfamiliar
twodimensionalsurface,youdbehardpressedtoanticipatetheshapeoftheresulting3D
object.

Theresnogeneralmathematicaltheorythattellsyouwhattheshapewillbeifyoustart
withdifferenttypesofpolygons,Lindseysaid.

Mathematicianshaveprecisewaysofdefiningwhatmakesashapeashape.Oneisto
knowitscurvature.Any3Dobjectwithoutholeshasatotalcurvatureofexactly4itsa
fixedvalueinthesamewayanycircularobjecthasexactly360degreesofangle.The
shapeorgeometryofa3Dobjectiscompletelydeterminedbythewaythatfixed
amountofcurvatureisdistributed,combinedwithinformationaboutdistancesbetween
points.Inasphere,thecurvatureisdistributedevenlyovertheentiresurfaceinacube,its
concentratedinequalamountsattheeightevenlyspacedvertices.

AuniqueattributeofJuliasetsallowsDeMarcoandLindseytoknowthecurvatureofthe
shapestheyrebuilding.AllJuliasetshavewhatsknownasameasureofmaximal
entropy,orMME.TheMMEisacomplicatedconcept,butthereisanintuitive(ifslightly
incomplete)waytothinkaboutit.First,pictureatwodimensionalfilledJuliasetonthe
plane.ThenpictureapointonthesameplanebutveryfaroutsidetheJuliasetsboundary
(infinitelyfar,infact).Fromthatdistantlocationthepointisgoingtotakearandomwalk
acrosstwodimensionalspace,meanderinguntilitstrikestheJuliaset.Whereveritfirst
strikestheJuliasetiswhereitcomestorest.

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1/7/2017 3-D Fractals Oer Clues to Complex Systems | Quanta Magazine

Test Your Mathematical Sculpting Skills

Can you turn a two-dimensional fractal into a 3-D object? Break out your scissors and tape for a chance
to win a 3-D printed sculpture.

TheMMEisawayofquantifyingthefactthatthemeanderingpointismorelikelyto
strikecertainpartsoftheJuliasetthanothers.Forexample,themeanderingpointismore
likelytostrikeaspikeintheJuliasetthatjutsoutintotheplanethanitistointersectwith
acrevicetuckedintoaregionoftheset.Themorelikelythemeanderingpointistohita
pointontheJuliaset,thehighertheMMEisatthatpoint.

Intheirpaper,DeMarcoandLindseydemonstratedthatthe3Dobjectstheybuildfrom
JuliasetshaveacurvaturedistributionthatsexactlyproportionaltotheMME.Thatis,if
theresa25percentchancethemeanderingpointwillhitaparticularplaceontheJuliaset
first,then25percentofthecurvatureshouldalsobeconcentratedatthatpointwhenthe
Juliasetisjoinedwiththeplanarcapandfoldedintoa3Dshape.

IfitwasreallyeasyforthemeanderingpointtohitsomeareaonourJuliasetwedwant
tohavealotofcurvatureatthecorrespondingpointonthe3Dobject,Lindseysaid.
AndifitwashardertohitsomeareaonourJuliaset,wedwantthecorrespondingareain
the3Dobjecttobekindofflat.

Thisisusefulinformation,butitdoesntgetyouasfarasyoudthink.Ifgivenatwo
dimensionalpolygon,andtoldexactlyhowitscurvatureshouldbedistributed,theresstill
nomathematicalwaytoidentifyexactlywhereyouneedtofoldthepolygontoendupwith
theright3Dshape.Becauseofthis,theresnowaytocompletelyanticipatewhatthat3D
shapewilllooklike.

Weknowhowsharpandpointytheshapehastobe,inanabstract,theoreticalsense,and
weknowhowfarapartthecrinklyregionsare,againinanabstract,theoreticalsense,but
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wehavenoideahowtovisualizeitinthreedimensions,DeMarcoexplainedinanemail.

SheandLindseyhaveevidenceoftheexistenceofa3Dshape,andevidenceofsomeof
thatshapesproperties,butnoabilityyettoseetheshape.Theyareinapositionsimilarto
thatofastronomerswhodetectanunexplainedstellarwobblethathintsattheexistenceof
anexoplanet:Theastronomersknowtherehastobesomethingelseoutthereandtheycan
estimateitsmass.Yettheobjectitselfremainsjustoutofview.

AFoldingStrategy

Thusfar,DeMarcoandLindseyhaveestablishedbasicdetailsofthe3Dshape:They
knowthatone3Dobjectexistsforeverypolynomial(bywayofitsJuliaset),andthey
knowtheobjecthasacurvatureexactlygivenbythemeasureofmaximalentropy.
Everythingelsehasyettobefiguredout.

Inparticular,theydliketodevelopamathematicalunderstandingofthebending
laminations,orlinesalongwhichaflatsurfacecanbefoldedtocreatea3Dobject.The
questionoccurredearlyontoThurston,too,whowrotetoMcMullenin2010,Iwonder
howharditistocomputeorcharacterizethepairofbendinglaminations,fortheinside
andtheoutside,andwhattheymighttellusaboutthegeometryoftheJuliaset.

Courtesy of Kathryn Lindsey

Kathryn Lindsey, a mathematician at the University of
Chicago.

Inthis,DeMarcoandLindseysworkisheavilyinfluencedbythemid20thcentury
mathematicianAleksandrAleksandrov.Aleksandrovestablishedthatthereisonlyone
uniquewayoffoldingagivenpolygontogeta3Dobject.Helamentedthatitseemed
impossibletomathematicallycalculatethecorrectfoldinglines.Today,thebeststrategyis
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oftentomakeabestguessaboutwheretofoldthepolygonandthentogetoutscissors
andtapetoseeiftheestimateisright.

KathrynandIspenthourscuttingoutexamplesandgluingthemourselves,DeMarco
said.

DeMarcoandLindseyarecurrentlytryingtodescribethefoldinglinesontheirparticular
classof3Dobjects,andtheythinktheyhaveapromisingstrategy.Ourworking
conjectureisthatthefoldinglines,thebendinglaminations,canbecompletelydescribed
intermsofcertaindynamicalproperties,DeMarcosaid.Putanotherway,theyhopethat
byiteratingtheunderlyingpolynomialintherightway,theyllbeabletoidentifythesetof
pointsalongwhichthefoldinglineoccurs.

Fromthere,possibilitiesforexplorationarenumerous.Ifyouknowthefoldinglines
associatedtothepolynomialf(x)=x21,youmightthenaskwhathappenstothefolding
linesifyouchangethecoefficientsandconsiderf(x)=x21.1.Dothefoldinglinesofthe
twopolynomialsdifferalittle,alotornotatall?

Certainpolynomialsmighthavesimilarbendinglaminations,andthatwouldtellusall
thesepolynomialshavesomethingincommon,evenifonthesurfacetheydontlooklike
theyhaveanythingincommon,Lindseysaid.

Itsabitearlytothinkaboutallofthis,however.DeMarcoandLindseyhavefounda
systematicwaytothinkaboutpolynomialsin3Dterms,butwhetherthatperspectivewill
answerimportantquestionsaboutthosepolynomialsisunclear.

Iwouldevencharacterizeitasbeingsortofplayfulatthisstage,McMullensaid,adding,
Inawaythatshowsomeofthebestmathematicalresearchproceedsyoudontknow
whatsomethingisgoingtobegoodfor,butitseemstobeafeatureofthemathematical
landscape.

Tryyourhandatshapingatwodimensionalfractalintoa3Dpolyhedroninourcontest
forthechancetowina3Dprintedsculptureofthesenewmathematicalobjects.Were
acceptingentriesthroughThursday,January12,2017.

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