Abstract

One of the most intriguing current issues in nonlinear dynamics is the nonstationary deterministic chaos that manifests itself in incomplete probability. Good examples of this chaos include intermittent chaos and the Arnold diffusion in Hamiltonian dynamics. In optics, chaotic spiking oscillations appear by means of a deep pump or loss modulation near relaxation oscillation frequencies in class-B lasers, in which polarization dynamics can be adiabatically eliminated.¹ We found that the intensity probability distribution in chaotic spiking oscillations P(I) obeys the inverse power-law—that is P(I)α I⁻¹—over a wide range of intensities.² This self-organized critical behavior motivated us to analyze Lyapunov spectra in chaotic spiking lasers to provide understanding of temporal variations in local Lyapunov exponents on a strange attractor governing chaotic dynamics.³

© 1994 IEEE