Machine learning - specifically deep learning - techniques have shown their capabilities in approximating dynamics from data, but a shortcoming of traditional deep learning is that there is little insight into the underlying mapping beyond its numerical output for a given input. This limits their utility in analysis beyond simple prediction. Simultaneously, a number of strategies exist which identify models based on a fixed dictionary of basis functions, but most either require some intuition or insight about the system, or are susceptible to overfitting or a lack of parsimony. Here we present a novel approach that combines the flexibility and accuracy of deep learning approaches with the utility of symbolic solutions: a deep neural network that generates a symbolic expression for the governing equations. We first describe the architecture for our model, then show the accuracy of our algorithm across a range of classical dynamical systems. The dynamics of quantities of interest are widely modeled A number of authors have approached system identificaas differential equations, often derived from first princi-tion by fitting coefficients of a linear combination of basis 3ples. However, this is not always possible, especially whenfunctions, dating at least back to Crutchfield and McNamara . The The set of basis functions typically includes nonlinear terms, identification of models from data has seen significant ad-for example terms which would arise in a Taylor series exvances with the advent of machine learning. While deeppansion about the origin of the system3-6 or a broader class neural networks have enabled sufficient accuracy in fore-of functions7. The coefficients of the basis functions are decasting dynamic data with unprecedented versatility, thetermined through comparison of the original data points with models they represent lack closed-form expressions thatpoints from computed solutions to the fitted models. Varican be conducive to interpretation and analysis.

Interpretable mathematical expressions defining discrete-time dynamical systems (iterated maps) can model many phenomena of scientific interest, enabling a deeper understanding of system behaviors. Since formulating governing expressions from first principles can be difficult, it is of particular interest to identify expressions for iterated maps given only their data streams. In this work, we consider a modified Symbolic Artificial Neural Network-Trained Expressions (SymANNTEx) architecture for this task, an architecture more expressive than others in the literature. We make a modification to the model pipeline to optimize the regression, then characterize the behavior of the adjusted model in identifying several classical chaotic maps. With the goal of parsimony, sparsity-inducing weight regularization and information theory-informed simplification are implemented. We show that our modified SymANNTEx model properly identifies single-state maps and achieves moderate success in approximating a dual-state attractor. These performances offer significant promise for data-driven scientific discovery and interpretation.