On--Off Intermittency Associated with the Breakdown of One--Dimensional Motion

Abstract

The chaotic motion of a particle in a rotationally symmetricMexican hat potential subjected to a periodic external force is found to undergo a symmetry--breaking instability as the forcing amplitude is increased. Below the threshold the motion is confined to onespace dimension, whereas beyond the instability the particle starts to move in both dimensions. At the onset the system exhibits the so--called on--off intermittency.The statistical characteristics on both sides of the bifurcation point are studied in comparison with previous investigations of on--off intermittency.