title: Multistability, noise, and attractor hopping: the crucial role of chaotic saddles.
abstract: We investigate the hopping dynamics between different attractors in a multistable system under the influence of noise. Using symbolic dynamics we find a sudden increase of dynamical entropies, when a system parameter is varied. This effect is explained by a bifurcation involving two chaotic saddles. We also demonstrate that the transient lifetimes on the saddle obey a scaling law in analogy to crisis.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Physik, Universität Potsdam, Postfach 601553, D-14415 Potsdam, Germany.
authors.forename: Suso
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kraut
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Feudel