Experimental observation of extreme multistability in an electronic system of two coupled R\"{o}ssler oscillators

TL;DR

This paper presents the first experimental demonstration of extreme multistability in a laboratory setup using coupled R"{o}ssler oscillators, confirming theoretical predictions and numerical simulations.

Contribution

It provides the first experimental evidence of extreme multistability in coupled R"{o}ssler systems, validating previous theoretical and numerical studies.

Findings

Experimental observation of multiple coexisting attractors

Controlled switching between attractors by initial conditions

Agreement between experimental results and numerical simulations

Abstract

We report the first experimental observation of extreme multistability in a controlled laboratory investigation. Extreme multistability arises when infinitely many attractors coexist for the same set of system parameters. The behavior was predicted earlier on theoretical grounds, supported by numerical studies of models of two coupled identical or nearly identical systems. We construct and couple two analog circuits based on a modified coupled R\"{o}ssler system and demonstrate the occurrence of extreme multistability through a controlled switching to different attractor states purely through a change in initial conditions for a fixed set of system parameters. Numerical studies of the coupled model equations are in agreement with our experimental findings.