Noise-driven multistability in a plasma diode

Abstract

Recently, a brand-new phenomenon of competing multistability in plasma diode systems has been observed by our group [S. J. Hahn and K. H. Pae, Phys. Plasmas 10, 314 (2003)]. By employing one-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations with proper control of the inherent numerical noise, the noise-driven multistability and dynamical transitions between regular and multistable solutions have been investigated. Throughout this work, it is verified that the competing multistability is, in principle, a noise-driven dynamical switch between attractors and occurs due to noise fluctuations inside a system near the fractal basin boundaries. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.