Transition to weak generalized synchrony in chaotically driven flows

Abstract

We study regimes of strong and weak generalized synchronization in chaotically forced nonlinear flows. The transition between these dynamical states can occur via a number of different routes, and here we examine the onset of weak generalized synchrony through intermittency and blowout bifurcations. The quantitative characterization of this dynamical transition is facilitated by measures that have been developed for the study of strange nonchaotic motion. Weak and strong generalized synchronous motion show contrasting sensitivity to parametric variation and have distinct distributions of finite-time Lyapunov exponents.