Using noise and chaos control to control nonchaotic systems

Here we show that chaos control techniques can be used to stabilize unstable periodic orbits in a nonchaotic system provided additive noise can be utilized (1) to determine the local dynamics of a chosen orbit, and (2) to move the system’s trajectory into the neighborhood of the orbit so that control can be initiated. Using these techniques, we demonstrate that the qualitative dynamics of a nonchaotic system can be altered without using large controls or large parameter shifts. Unlike classical control methods, this approach requires no knowledge of the underlying system equations. (c) 1995 The American Physical Society