Bifurcations and intermittency in coupled dissipative kicked rotors

Abstract

We investigate the emergence of complex dynamics in a system of coupled dissipative kicked rotors and show that critical transitions can be understood via bifurcations of simple states. We study multistability and bifurcations in the single rotor model, demonstrating how these give rise to a variety of coexisting spatial patterns in a coupled system. A combined order parameter is introduced to characterize different spatial patterns and to reveal the coexistence of chaotic and regular attractors. Finally, we illustrate an intermittent phenomenon near the onset of chaos.