Winding Numbers in Discrete Dynamics: From Circle Maps and Fractals to Chaotic Poincaré Sections

Winding numbers are key indices in the depiction, modelling, and testing of dynamical processes. They capture phase progression on closed curves and are robust for quasiperiodic dynamics, but their status for chaotic Poincaré sections is unclear. This study tests whether any non-trivial winding-type index can be extracted from chaotic Poincaré maps using three approaches: (i) phase-angle analysis, (ii) Kabsch optimal-rotation estimation, and (iii) local turning-angle averaging. To benchmark feasibility and error, we compare four systems: the standard circle map, the same circle map embedded on two planar fractal curves (Koch snowflake and Hilbert curve), a quasiperiodic Duffing–van der Pol (DVP) Poincaré map, and a chaotic DVP Poincaré map. For the quasiperiodic map, all methods yield consistent, accurate winding numbers. For the transitional systems (circle map and its fractal embeddings), indices remain non-trivial but more deviated. In stark contrast, chaotic Poincaré maps produce only trivial indices across all methods. These results indicate a crucial fact about the modelling of chaotic Poincaré maps. That is, although being fractal, they are not merely chaotic maps on fractal curves; rather, they reflect a tighter coupling of geometry and dynamics. Practically, the recoverability of a non-trivial winding index offers a simple diagnostic to distinguish quasiperiodicity from chaos in Poincaré data or corresponding models. The constructed chaotic-map-on-fractal systems also act as test-bed models that bridge ideal one-dimensional mappings and realistic two-dimensional Poincaré sections.