A computer-assisted proof of dynamo growth in the stretch-fold-shear map

The Stretch-Fold-Shear (SFS) operator is a functional linear operator acting on complex-valued functions of a real variable x on some domain containing in It arises from a stylized model in kinematic dynamo theory where magnetic field growth corresponds to an eigenvalue of modulus greater than 1. When the shear parameter α is zero, the spectrum of can be determined exactly, and the eigenfunctions corresponding to non-zero eigenvalues are related to the Bernoulli polynomials. The spectrum for has not been rigorously determined although the spectrum has been approximated numerically. In this paper, a computer-assisted proof is presented to provide rigorous bounds on the leading eigenvalue for , showing inter alia that has an eigenvalue of modulus greater than 1 for all α satisfying , thereby partially confirming an outstanding conjecture on the SFS operator.