Bursting: when a cusp and a pitchfork interact

TL;DR

This paper investigates a novel bursting behavior in a two-mode semiconductor laser with optical injection, revealing a transition from single-mode oscillations to bursting driven by a cusp-pitchfork bifurcation.

Contribution

It combines experimental observations with a simple dynamical model to explain the bursting mechanism via a cusp-pitchfork bifurcation.

Findings

Transition from single-mode oscillations to bursting observed

Bursting organized by a cusp-pitchfork bifurcation

Theoretical model explains experimental phenomena

Abstract

We present an experimental and theoretical study of an unusual bursting mechanism in a two-mode semiconductor laser with single-mode optical injection. By tuning the strength and frequency of the injected light we find a transition from purely single-mode intensity oscillations to bursting in the intensity of the uninjected mode. We explain this phenomenon on the basis of a simple two-dimensional dynamical system, and show that the bursting in our experiment is organised by a cusp-pitchfork bifurcation of limit cycles.