Improved Correlation Dimension Calculation

For many chaotic systems, accurate calculation of the correlation dimension from measured data is difficult because of very slow convergence as the scale size is reduced. This problem is often caused by the highly nonuniform measure on the attractor. This paper proposes a method for collecting data at large scales and extrapolating to the limit of zero scale. The result is a vastly reduced required number of data points for a given accuracy in the measured dimension. The method is illustrated in detail for one-dimensional maps and then applied to more complicated maps and flows. Values are given for the correlation dimension of many standard chaotic systems.