Topological model of homoclinic chaos in a glow discharge

Abstract

We perform a topological analysis of homoclinic chaos in an experimental dynamical system: the glow discharge (GD). The geometrical model accounting for the stretching and folding mechanisms in the GD attractor is the horseshoe template. The presence of a homoclinic orbit induces a structure on this template, allowing us to predict the qualitative dynamical behavior as the GD approaches homo clinicity.