ON-OFF INTERMITTENCY ASSOCIATED WITH THE BREAKDOWN OF ONE-DIMENSIONALMOTION

The chaotic motion of a particle in a rotationally symmetric Mexican h at potential subjected to a periodic external force is found to underg o a symmetry-breaking instability as the forcing amplitude is increase d. Below the threshold the motion is confined to one space dimension, whereas beyond the instability the particle starts to move in both dim ensions. At the onset the system exhibits the so-called on-off intermi ttency. The statistical characteristics on both sides of the bifurcati on point are studied in comparison with previous investigations of on- off intermittency.