Transition to hyperchaos and rare large-intensity pulses in Zeeman laser

Area of Science:

• Nonlinear dynamics
• Laser physics
• Chaos theory

Background:

• Nonlinear systems often exhibit complex dynamics, including chaos.
• Understanding transitions to more complex states like hyperchaos is crucial.
• Previous studies recognized extreme events in chaotic systems but lacked specific classification.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the transition to hyperchaos in the Zeeman laser model.
• To analyze the characteristics of extreme intensity pulses during this transition.
• To explore the robustness of hyperchaos to noise and its prevalence in low-dimensional systems.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of the Zeeman laser model across different nonlinear instability routes.
• Identification of critical parameters for the onset of hyperchaos.
• Characterization of large-intensity pulses and system attractor behavior.
• Investigation of noise effects on the transition and critical parameters.

Main Results:

• A discontinuous transition to hyperchaos was observed at discrete critical parameters for three instability types.
• Hyperchaos onset coincided with sudden attractor expansion and recurrent large-intensity pulses.
• Pomeau-Manneville intermittency showed hysteresis, unlike other routes.
• The phenomenon is robust to weak noise, with noise shifting the transition parameter.

Conclusions:

• The Zeeman laser model exhibits a distinct transition to hyperchaos, generating extreme events.
• These extreme events, while robust to noise, may require new metrics for classification beyond standard chaos.
• The findings highlight the commonality of such dynamics in low-dimensional systems and the need for refined analytical tools.