In the study of dynamical systems the term Feigenbaum function has been used to describe two different functions introduced by the physicist Mitchell Feigenbaum:
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Functional equation
The functional equation arises in the study of one-dimensional maps that, as a function of a parameter, go through a period-doubling cascade. The functional equation is the mathematical expression of the universality of period doubling. The equation is used to specify a function g and a parameter λ by the relation
with the initial conditions
For a particular form of solution with a quadratic dependence of the solution near x=0, the inverse 1/λ=2.5029... is one of the Feigenbaum constants.
Scaling function
The Feigenbaum scaling function provides a complete description of the attractor of the logistic map at the end of the period-doubling cascade. The attractor is a Cantor set, and just as the middle-third Cantor set, it can be covered by a finite set of segments, all bigger than a minimal size dn. For a fixed dn the set of segments forms a cover Δn of the attractor. The ratio of segments from two consecutive covers, Δn and Δn+1 can be arranged to approximate a function σ, the Feigenbaum scaling function.