A Three-Dimensional Generalization of QRT Maps

Abstract

We propose a geometric construction of three-dimensional birational maps that preserve two pencils of quadrics. The maps act as compositions of involutions, which, in turn, act along the straight line generators of the quadrics of the first pencil and are defined by the intersections with quadrics of the second pencil. On each quadric of the first pencil, the maps act as two-dimensional QRT maps. While these maps are of a pretty high degree in general, we find geometric conditions which guarantee that the degree is reduced to 3. The resulting degree 3 maps are illustrated by two known and two novel Kahan-type discretizations of three-dimensional Nambu systems, including the Euler top and the Zhukovski–Volterra gyrostat with two non-vanishing components of the gyrostatic momentum.