Generalized exceptional points in nonlinear and stochastic dynamics

We study a class of bifurcations generically occurring in dynamical systems with nonmutual couplings ranging from models of coupled neurons to predator-prey systems and nonlinear oscillators. In these bifurcations, extended attractors such as limit cycles, limit tori, and strange attractors merge and split in a similar way as fixed points in a pitchfork bifurcation. We show that this merging and splitting coincide with the coalescence of covariant Lyapunov vectors with vanishing Lyapunov exponents, a feature that generalizes the exceptional points that can exist in families of non-Hermitian matrices or operators. We distinguish two classes of bifurcations associated with generalized exceptional points, corresponding respectively to continuous and discontinuous behaviors of the covariant Lyapunov vectors at the transition depending on the presence of a ℤ₂ symmetry. We outline some physical consequences of this class of theories exhibiting generalized exceptional points, including nonreciprocal responses, the destruction of isochrons, and anomalous noise effects. In particular, we show that the effective diffusion coefficient on the attractor can stay finite or even diverge when the noise strength vanishes. We illustrate our results with concrete examples from neuroscience, ecology, and physics.