Chaotic markers in dynamic diffraction

In a dynamic far-field diffraction experiment, we calculate the largest Lyapunov exponent of a time series obtained from the optical fluctuations in a dynamic diffraction pattern. The time series is used to characterize the locomotory predictability of an oversampled microscopic species. We use a live nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, as a model organism to demonstrate our method. The time series is derived from the intensity at one point in the diffraction pattern. This single time series displays chaotic markers in the locomotion of the Caenorhabditis elegans by reconstructing the multidimensional phase space. The average largest Lyapunov exponent (base e) associated with the dynamic diffraction of 10 adult wildtype (N2) Caenorhabditis elegans is 1.27±0.03s^-1.