When More Data Become Less Informative: Finite-Precision Periodicization and Collapse of Forecast-Error Lyapunov Estimates

Abstract

Largest Lyapunov exponents (LLEs) quantify exponential sensitivity, but data-driven estimates are often obtained from finite-precision trajectories. We show that increasing the length of a single reduced-precision chaotic record can eventually degrade a forecast-error LLE estimate. Using the logistic map at r=4, an ESP32 single-precision trajectory is reproduced bit-for-bit by NumPy float32. Across 10,000 random float32 initial conditions, every trajectory reaches an exact recurrence before iteration 7612. For one long float32 record, the estimated LLE changes from 0.6853 at N=15,000 to 0.1827 at N=20,000 and approximately zero at N=30,000 as exact train-test histories saturate. At N=100,000, the long float32 record gives 0.0016, whereas independently restarted length-100 trajectories give 0.6917; matched float64 controls remain near ln(2)=0.6931. The collapse is reproduced for 28 representative initial conditions, and its onset is strongly correlated with the recurrence scale set by transient length and digital period (Pearson r=0.982). Thus, finite-state recurrence can turn additional samples into duplicate futures rather than new dynamical information, while independent restarts substantially delay this saturation.