An improved version of the Marotto Theorem

In 1975, Li and Yorke introduced the first precise definition of discrete chaos and established a very simple criterion for chaos in one-dimensional difference equations, "period three implies chaos" for brevity. After three years. Marotto generalized this result to n-dimensional difference equations, showing that the existence of a snap-back repeller implies chaos in the sense of Li-Yorke. This theorem is up to now the best one in predicting and analyzing discrete chaos in multidimensional difference equations. Yet, it is well known that there exists an error in the condition of the original Marotto Theorem, and several authors had tried to correct it in different ways. In this paper, we further clarify the issue, with an improved version of the Marotto Theorem derived. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.