Energy cycle for the Lorenz attractor

In this paper we identify an energetic cycle in the Lorenz-63 system through its Lie-Poisson structure. A new geometrical view of this Lorenz system is presented and sheds light on its energetic properties by recovering its Hamiltonian structure and the associated Casimir. It is shown that this approach gives notable physical insight on the dynamical behaviour of the system. A link between energetics and chaotic properties has been found and specific inequalities, involving conversion terms, have been identified. Traps and jumps between the lobes are studied and benefits of our formalism to capture predictability-energy connections are discussed. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.