induce a unique smooth flow, such maps are typically smooth and invertible, at least locally
[1]. However, for piecewise-smooth differential equations and hybrid systems, return maps
are commonly piecewise-smooth [2].
The phase space of a piecewise-smooth map is characterised by the presence of one or more
switching manifolds where the map is nonsmooth. This nonsmoothness causes the dynamics
to change in a fundamental way at border-collision bifurcations where a fixed point collides
with a switching manifold as parameters are varied. Under quite general conditions, these
dynamics are captured by a piecewise-linear family known as the border-collision normal
form [3, 4, 5]. In two dimensions this family can be written as
x
y7→
"τLx+y+µ
−δLx#, x ≤0,
"τRx+y+µ
−δRx#, x ≥0,
(1)
where the line x= 0 is the switching manifold, the parameter µ∈Rcontrols the border-
collision bifurcation, and τL, δL, τR, δR∈Rare additional parameters.
The normal form (1) is well-studied as it arises in diverse applications, and, as an extension
of the Lozi map [6], serves as a minimal model for chaotic and highly nonlinear dynamics.
The dynamics of (1) is remarkably rich — it exhibits chaos robustly [7, 8], can have any
number of coexisting attractors [9], of which all could be chaotic [10, 11]. Most studies of (1)
have focussed on parameter regimes where (1) is invertible, i.e. δLδR>0. For the invertible,
dissipative case, a review is provided by [12]; other works that characterise parameter space
in some detail include [13, 14, 15, 16].
However, it is perhaps under-appreciated that return maps of piecewise-smooth dynam-
ical systems are often, not only piecewise-smooth, but also non-invertible. This is because
a switch to a different mode of operation can readily cause the flow to fold back onto it-
self, as illustrated below for power converters. Some analysis of (1) has been done in the
non-invertible case. For example period-adding is illustrated numerically in [16], global bifur-
cations of a chaotic attractor in an equivalent map are described in [17], and two-dimensional
attractors are identified in [18]. In this paper we provide an overview of the dynamics of (1)
when it is non-invertible, specifically with δLδR<0. For the special case δLδR= 0, where
the long-term dynamics are essentially one-dimensional, refer to [19, 20].
We begin in §2 by showing how the piecewise-linear normal form (1) applies to border-
collision bifurcations of arbitrary, two-dimensional, piecewise-smooth maps. We then study
(1) subject to δR<0< δL, the specific signs being chosen without loss of generality. The
dynamical complexity of (1) means we cannot hope to characterise all dynamics, and for this
reason our approach is to chart the essential features. With µ < 0 the dominate bifurcation
structures are period-adding and robust chaos, §3, while with µ > 0 the map exhibits period-
incrementing and robust chaos, §4.
In §5 we illustrate the results with the power converter model of Deane [21]. This model
exhibits a border-collision bifurcation, and by determining the part of the parameter space of
the normal form that this bifurcation corresponds to, we can use our results to characterise
the bifurcation. Although in general the dynamics created in border-collision bifurcations is
2