attractor

[ uh-trak-ter ]

noun

1. a person or thing that attracts.
2. Physics. a state or behavior toward which a dynamic system tends to evolve, represented as a point or orbit in the system's phase space.

attractor

/ ə-trăk′tər /

1. A set of states of a dynamic physical system toward which that system tends to evolve, regardless of the starting conditions of the system.
2. ◆ A point attractor is an attractor consisting of a single state. For example, a marble rolling in a smooth, rounded bowl will always come to rest at the lowest point, in the bottom center of the bowl; the final state of position and motionlessness is a point attractor.
3. ◆ A periodic attractor is an attractor consisting of a finite or infinite set of states, where the evolution of the system results in moving cyclically through each state. The ideal orbit of a planet around a star is a periodic attractor, as are periodic oscillations . A periodic attractor is also called a limit-cycle.
4. ◆ A strange attractor is an attractor for which the evolution through the set of possible physical states is nonperiodic (chaotic), resulting in an evolution through a set of states defining a fractal set. Most real physical systems (including the actual orbits of planets) involve strange attractors.

Word History and Origins

Origin of attractor¹

First recorded in 1645–55

Example Sentences

Short-time attractors are structures that influence a system's dynamics and motion for a limited time, but do not determine long-term behaviors.

From Science Daily

The idea is to draw them to items that trainers call “attractors” — like a ball or a rag — and puppies are challenged to catch them.

From Seattle Times

"Wrath of Khan" revolved around a vendetta, a more reliable attractor for moviegoers than a story about a speculative concept.

From Salon

The researchers also tested turpentine, a bear attractor, and the ticks despised it as well.

From New York Times

Again, they found a torus, a shape that persisted regardless of the rat's environment or state of being, a finding that supports the theory of continuous attractor networks.

From Scientific American