Chaos In A Homogeneous Model For Earthquakes

We investigate the nonlinear properties of a system introduced by Burridge and Knopoff to model the dynamics of earthquakes. We find that a two-block system in a completely homogeneous configuration presents a complex behavior characterized by the presence of periodic, quasiperiodic and chaotic orbits. We have found routes to chaos via two types of intermittencies and period doubling bifurcations. The sensitivity of the evolution to different initial conditions is quantified by calculating the largest Liapunov exponent. The dynamics of the model is governed by nondifferentiable flows.