Controlling chaos with simple limiters

Abstract

New experimental results demonstrate that chaos control can be accomplished using controllers that are very simple relative to the system being controlled. Chaotic dynamics in a driven pendulum and a double scroll circuit are controlled using an adjustable, passive limiter-a weight for the pendulum and a diode for the circuit. For both experiments, multiple unstable periodic orbits are selectively controlled using minimal perturbations. These physical examples suggest that chaos control can be practically applied to a much wider array of important problems than initially thought possible.