Renormalization and destruction of $1/gamma^2$ tori in the standard nontwist map

Extending the work of del-Castillo-Negrete, Greene, and Morrison, Physica D {bf 91}, 1 (1996) and {bf 100}, 311 (1997) on the standard nontwist map, the breakup of an invariant torus with winding number equal to the inverse golden mean squared is studied. Improved numerical techniques provide the greater accuracy that is needed for this case. The new results are interpreted within the renormalization group framework by constructing a renormalization operator on the space of commuting map pairs, and by studying the fixed points of the so constructed operator.