Hofstadter's butterfly

noun

A graph of the spectral properties of non-interacting two-dimensional electrons in a perpendicular magnetic field in a lattice.

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Meanings

nounHofstadter's butterfly (plural Hofstadter's butterflies)

plural Hofstadter's butterflies · alternative Hofstadter butterfly

  1. natural sciencesA graph of the spectral properties of non-interacting two-dimensional electrons in a perpendicular magnetic field in a lattice.

Origin

The fractal nature of the spectrum was discovered in 1976 by Douglas Hofstadter.

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Cite this entry
APA

Hofstadter's butterfly. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hofstadter's%20butterfly

MLA

“Hofstadter's butterfly.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hofstadter's%20butterfly. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Hofstadter's butterfly,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hofstadter's%20butterfly.

Source: Hofstadter's butterfly on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.