Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 25, 2026

Automation of Mode Locking in a Nonlinear Polarization Rotation Fiber Laser through Output Polarization Measurements
Published on: February 28, 2016
Entropy and bifurcations in a chaotic laser
Pieter Collins1, Bernd Krauskopf
1Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZL, United Kingdom. pcollins@liv.ac.uk
Researchers calculated bounds for topological entropy in a semiconductor laser with optical injection. They analyzed chaotic dynamics and boundary crises, finding entropy persists in chaotic saddles post-bifurcation.
Area of Science:
- Nonlinear Dynamics
- Laser Physics
- Chaos Theory
Background:
- Semiconductor lasers with optical injection can exhibit complex chaotic dynamics.
- Understanding the behavior of chaotic attractors is crucial for laser applications.
- Topological entropy quantifies the complexity of chaotic systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compute bounds on the topological entropy of a chaotic attractor in a semiconductor laser with optical injection.
- To analyze the global properties of stable and unstable manifolds of periodic points.
- To characterize the boundary crisis leading to the destruction of the chaotic attractor.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing the Poincaré return map to a fixed plane.
- Globally computing stable and unstable manifolds of periodic points.
- Entropy calculations based on information from manifold analysis.
Main Results:
- Bounds on topological entropy were successfully computed.
- The global computation of manifolds was achieved despite challenges with smooth Poincaré maps.
- A boundary crisis involving a periodic point with negative eigenvalues was identified.
- The chaotic attractor was destroyed during this boundary crisis.
Conclusions:
- Topological entropy associated with the chaotic attractor persists in a chaotic saddle after the bifurcation.
- The study provides a method for analyzing chaotic systems where global Poincaré maps are not smoothly defined.
- This research contributes to the understanding of bifurcations and chaos in optically injected semiconductor lasers.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Interference and Diffraction
Entropy
Entropy
When an ideal gas expands isothermally, the disorder in the gas increases. From the molecular perspective, the gas molecules have more volume to move around in.
Consider an infinitesimal step in the expansion, which...
Entropy Change in Reversible Processes
The statement can be further generalized to prove that entropy is a state function. Take a cyclic process between any two points on a p-V diagram.
Entropy and the Second Law of Thermodynamics
The relation between entropy and disorder can be illustrated with the example of the phase change of ice to water. In ice, the molecules are located at specific sites giving a solid state, whereas, in a liquid form, these molecules are much freer to move. The molecular arrangement has therefore become more randomized. Although the change in average...
The Entropy as a State Function

