Chaotic and Hyperchaotic Dynamics of a Clapp Oscillator

Abstract

This paper describes recent findings achieved during a numerical investigation of the circuit known as the Clapp oscillator. By considering the generalized bipolar transistor as an active element and after applying the search-for-chaos optimization approach, parameter regions that lead to either chaotic or hyperchaotic dynamics were discovered. For starters, the two-port that represents the transistor was firstly assumed to have a polynomial-forward trans-conductance; then the shape of trans-conductance changes into the piecewise-linear characteristics. Both cases cause vector field symmetry and allow the coexistence of several different attractors. Chaotic and hyperchaotic behavior were deeply analyzed by using standard numerical tools such as Lyapunov exponents, basins of attraction, bifurcation diagrams, and solution sensitivity. The structural stability of strange attractors observed numerically was finally proved via a real practical experiment: a flow-equivalent chaotic oscillator was constructed as the lumped electronic circuit, and desired attractors were captured and provided as oscilloscope screenshots.

Keywords

• Clapp oscillator
• chaos
• hyperchaos
• Lyapunov exponents
• strange attractors