Fractal and Lacunarity Analysis of Time Series and Images: Foundations and Applications

Dear Colleagues,

The analysis of fractal and lacunarity properties has become increasingly essential across a wide range of scientific and engineering disciplines. In fields such as biomedical imaging, environmental science, finance, neuroscience, materials science, and computer vision, these methods provide fundamental insights into the structural complexity, scale invariance, and spatial heterogeneity of natural and synthetic systems. Fractal analysis quantifies the irregularity and self-similarity of signals and surfaces, while lacunarity complements it by measuring the distribution of gaps or the degree of spatial variability within patterns. Together, they enable a deeper understanding of systems that exhibit complexity beyond the reach of traditional statistical approaches.

This Special Issue seeks to highlight advances in the theory, methods, and applications of fractal and lacunarity analysis, with a particular focus on time series and digital images. We welcome contributions that present new computational techniques, theoretical frameworks, validation studies, or innovative interdisciplinary applications. Submissions may address—but are not limited to—the following topics:

• Theoretical developments in fractal geometry and lacunarity measures;
• New algorithms for estimating fractal dimension and lacunarity in time series and images;
• Multifractal analysis and its applications;
• Biomedical applications (e.g., MRI, EEG/fMRI time series);
• Remote sensing, environmental monitoring, and geospatial analysis;
• Financial, physiological, and ecological time series analysis;
• Integration with machine learning and AI for feature extraction and classification;
• Open-source software and toolboxes;
• Interdisciplinary case studies in physics, engineering, biology, and data science.

Dr. Erveton Pinheiro Pinto
Dr. Marcelo Pires
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Fractal and Fractional is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• lacunarity
• fractality
• time series
• images
• data science