CHARACTERIZATION OF HOMOCLINIC CHAOS IN A GLOW DISCHARGE THROUGH RETURN MAPS

Abstract

We show that homoclinic chaos in the current of a DC electrical discharge is easily characterized through return maps. We derive the same information from a Poincaré section map, a time-of-flight map, and a next maximal amplitude map. The presence of a homoclinic orbit in the phase space of our system is responsible for the equivalence of the three kinds of return maps.