Intermingled attractors in an asymmetrically driven modified Chua oscillator

Understanding the asymptotic behavior of a dynamical system when system parameters are varied remains a key challenge in nonlinear dynamics. We explore the dynamics of a multistable dynamical system (the response) coupled unidirectionally to a chaotic drive. In the absence of coupling, the dynamics of the response system consists of simple attractors, namely, fixed points and periodic orbits, and there could be chaotic motion depending on system parameters. Importantly, the boundaries of the basins of attraction for these attractors are all smooth. When the drive is coupled to the response, the entire dynamics becomes chaotic: distinct multistable chaos and bistable chaos are observed. In both cases, we observe a mixture of synchronous and desynchronous states and a mixture of synchronous states only. The response system displays a much richer, complex dynamics. We describe and analyze the corresponding basins of attraction using the required criteria. Riddled and intermingled structures are revealed.