Dynamical analysis of two coupled parametrically excited van der Pol oscillators

The dynamical behavior of two coupled parametrically excited van der pot oscillators is investigated in this paper. Based on the averaged equations, the transition boundaries are sought to divide the parameter space into a set of regions, which correspond to different types of solutions. Two types of periodic solutions may bifurcate from the initial equilibrium. The periodic solutions may lose their stabilities via a generalized static bifurcation, which leads to stable quasi-periodic solutions, or via a generalized Hopf bifurcation, which leads to stable 3D tori. The instabilities of both the quasi-periodic solutions and the 3D tori may directly lead to chaos with the variation of the parameters. Two symmetric chaotic attractors are observed and for certain values of the parameters, the two attractors may interact with each other to form another enlarged chaotic attractor. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.