STOCHASTIC RESONANCE - A CHAOTIC DYNAMICS APPROACH

For a class of multistable systems it follows from qualitative results of Melnikov theory that deterministic and stochastic excitations play equivalent roles in the promotion of chaos. We use such results to su ggest (1) a method for assessing the role of the noise spectrum in enh ancing the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), the most effective spectral sh ape being that for which the power is distributed closest to the frequ ency of the Melnikov scale factor's peak; (2) a method for more effect ive SNR enhancement than can be achieved by increasing the noise, wher ein the noise is left unchanged and a harmonic excitation with frequen cy based on the system's Melnikov scale factor is added to the system. The effectiveness of our Melnikov-based methods is confirmed by numer ical simulations. The principle of a practical and effective nonlinear transduction device for enhancing SNR is proposed and demonstrated nu merically.