Tracking unstable orbits in an experiment

Abstract

We present a continuation method for experimentally tracking unstable periodic orbits by slowly varying an available system parameter in a dynamical system. The method does not depend on an explicit model, but on the signal analysis of a measured time series. Unstable periodic orbits can be tracked through various bifurcations. We apply this to a Duffing-like circuit and compare the results to an approximate model of the circuit.