Chaos and Synchronized Chaos in an Earthquake Model

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the presence of chaos and synchronized chaos in a symmetric earthquake model, revealing complex dynamics and potential applications in seismology, contrasting previous numerical findings with experimental results.

Contribution

It shows the existence of chaos and synchronized chaos in a symmetric two- and three-block Burridge-Knopoff earthquake model, highlighting new dynamical behaviors.

Findings

Chaos exists in the symmetric two-block model.

Synchronized chaos appears in the three-block system.

The results align with experimental observations.

Abstract

We show that chaos is present in the symmetric two-block Burridge-Knopoff model for earthquakes. This is in contrast with previous numerical studies, but in agreement with experimental results. In this system, we have found a rich dynamical behavior with an unusual route to chaos. In the three-block system, we see the appearance of synchronized chaos, showing that this concept can have potential applications in the field of seismology.