Analysing Lyapunov spectra of chaotic dynamical systems

It is shown that the asymptotic spectra of finite-time Lyapunov exponents of a variety of fully chaotic dynamical systems can be understood in terms of a statistical analysis. Using random matrix theory we derive numerical and in particular analytical results which provide insights into the overall behaviour of the Lyapunov exponents particularly for strange attractors. The corresponding distributions for the unstable periodic orbits are investigated for comparison.