An electronic device implementing a strange nonchaotic Hunt–Ott attractor

Topic and aim. The aim of the article is to propose an electronic device representing a non-autonomous dynamical system with a strange nonchaotic attractor insensitive to variation of parameters (with the only limitation that the ratio of the frequencies of the components of the external control driving remains unchanged being equal to a fixed irrational number). Investigated model. A scheme is composed of two self-oscillating elements excited alternately due to the external modulation of parameters, and the excitation phases are transferred from one subsystem to another in such way that on a period of the modulation they are transformed with fulfillment of certain topological properties corresponding to the formal model proposed by Hunt and Ott. Results. The simulation of the operation of the circuit in Multisim software has been carried out, the results of which allow to confirm validity of the attributing the attractor to the Hunt–Ott class. Oscilloscope traces of signals generated by the system, phase portrait of the attractor, diagrams illustrating the topological nature of the transformation for the phases and the nature of the invariant probability density distribution on the attractor are presented. Discussion. From the point of view of possible applications of strange nonchaotic attractors (communication systems, information processing, cryptographic schemes), the robustness of the considered system is an obvious advantage. In terms of methodology, the proposed material may be interesting for teaching undergraduate and graduate students specializing in radiophysics and electronics with principles of design and analyzing systems with complex dynamics. Although the scheme is demonstrated for a low-frequency band (sound frequencies), it obviously allows modification for use in the radio-frequency band.