Incomplete crossing and semi-topological horseshoes

Abstract

This paper enriches the topological horseshoe theory using finite subshift theory in symbolic dynamical systems, and develops an elementary framework addressing incomplete crossing and semi-horseshoes. Two illustrative examples are provided: one from the perturbed Duffing system and another from a polynomial system proposed by Chen, demonstrating the prevalence of semi-horseshoes in chaotic systems. Moreover, the semi-topological horseshoe theory enhances the detection of chaos and improves the accuracy of topological entropy estimation.