Strange objects in the complex plane

Julia sets are examined as examples of strange objects which arise in the study of long time properties of simple dynamical systems. Technically they are the closure of the set of unstable cycles of analytic maps. Physically, they are sets of points which lead to chaotic behavior. The map f ( z) = z2+ p is analyzed for smallp where the Julia set is a closed curve, and for largep where the Julia set is completely disconnected. In both cases the Hausdorff dimension is calculated in perturbation theory and numerically. An expression for the rate at which points escape from the neighborhood of the Julia set is derived and tested in a numerical simulation of the escape. KEY WORDS: Chaos; dynamical systems; fractal dimension; escape rate; Julia set