CHARACTERIZING THE DYNAMICS OF STOCHASTIC BISTABLE SYSTEMS BY MEASURES OF COMPLEXITY

The dynamics of noisy bistable systems is analyzed by means of Lyapuno v exponents and measures of complexity. We consider both the classical Kramers problem with additive white noise and the case when the barri er fluctuates due to additional external colored noise. In the case of additive noise we calculate the Lyapunov exponents and all measures o f complexity analytically as functions of the noise intensity or the m ean escape time, respectively. For the problem of a fluctuating barrie r the usual description of the dynamics with the mean escape time is n ot sufficient. The application of the concept of measures of complexit y allows us to describe the structures of motion in more detail. Most complexity measures indicate the value of the correlation time at whic h the phenomenon of resonant activation occurs with an extremum.