After the first time chaos could be controlled, for the last quarter of century, a diversity of publications have been devoted to the development of new control schemes and their applications to different laser systems. This book assembles several review papers which analyze and describe the most important achievements in controlling laser dynamics and synchronization of laser systems. The papers report a variety of interesting dynamical phenomena encountered in different types of lasers and related to control techniques. For the last 20 years laser physics and nonlinear dynamics have undergone a crucial progress. Understanding lasers as dynamical systems involves concepts associated mostly with the nonlinear nature of these systems. Since the appearance of the pioneering work of E. Ott, C. Grebogi and J. A. Yorke in 1990, who proposed a method for controlling chaos, active attempts for applying this method and other control methods to laser systems have been conducted. Many research works were directed not only to the observation and identification of dynamical regimes in lasers, but also to control laser dynamics and chaos. Considerable progress has been made in research and development of semiconductor and fiber lasers. The special interest these lasers stir up is explained by their easy operation, small size, low price, and, of course, their successful application in communications. However, in spite of the huge progress in laser physics and nonlinear dynamics, only few reviews have been devoted to this topic. The book has an interdisciplinary character because the topic of this book is a great mixture of four big areas of science: laser physics, nonlinear dynamics, control theory, and synchronization. Each area was developed independently till the first nonlinear control of laser dynamics has been realized. The aim of this book is to address a broad readership: students, researchers, engineers, technicians, who work with lasers, as well as scientists conducting interdisciplinary research; it is intended for both theoreticians and experimentalists. The intention of this book is to give the reader a good understanding of nonlinear laser dynamics, not only in one specific type of laser but rather in many different types of lasers, as each control method or coupling is introduced. Four chapters of the book are devoted to laser dynamics control and describe the most important achievements of the last two decades in this topic. These chapters review already classical and relatively new results on stabilizing unstable periodic orbits in chaotic lasers and other control methods providing the reader with an extensive bibliography. The book also contains four chapters devoted to synchronization of coupled lasers. Special attention in the book is given to experimental applications of different control methods and synchronization phenomena in different laser systems. Editing this book has been a rewarding experience for me. Since 1979, I have been associated with lasers, beginning as a postgraduate student at the Institute of Physics of the Belarus Academy of Sciences in Minsk when I helped build a CO2 laser for a research project under Professor Vladimir V. Churakov direction. He was the first person to instil in me an enthusiasm for optics and light. I then was very fortunate to do my thesis work under supervision of Academician of the Byelorussian Academy of Sciences Boris Ivanovich Stepanov, who encouraged me to reduce ideas to simple concepts. Being very diligent, he nonetheless, also was a cheery person. He used to say that a real scientist has to work more than 24 hours per day, write monographs and must never stay too much time in one research area, but should change direction from time to time. I also thank Dr. Boris F. Kuntsevich for helping me to understand the fundamental theory of laser oscillations. At that time, in the late 70s - early 80s, since there were no personal computers we had to search for analytical solutions of laser equations. This was a good exercise to learn the foundation of laser physics. I am grateful to my colleagues Drs. Vladimir O. Petukhov and Ivan M. Bertel, who played a key role in my experimental practice helping me to install and equip my first experimental setup. Being a part of a stimulating group of young researchers at the Laboratory of General Spectroscopy during the growth of the field of laser spectroscopy was an unparalleled opportunity. We built CO2 lasers and tried to stabilize them for spectroscopy applications. For a long period of time Dr. Viacheslav N. Chizhevsky and I worked together, he got me involved in the world of chaos and helped me take my first steps into numerical simulations with MATLAB; together we carried out many experiments with CO2 lasers. He shared his ideas with me and I deeply appreciate all our fruitful discussions. Back then, we thought (about) laser was a stable device and treated any instabilities and chaos as a consequence of mechanical vibrations or bad alignment. It was only in 1964 that the Russian physicists A. Z. Grazyuk and A. N. Oraevskii found in numerical studies of the equations describing a simplest (homogeneously broadened, single-mode, traveling wave, resonantly tuned) laser, a time-dependent solution that consisted of pulses, varying irregularly with time. They even used at that time the term chaotic to describe this irregular pulsing behavior. Laser dynamics stagnated in a rudimentary state for more than one decade until in 1975, when the German theoretical physicist G. Haken concluded, from the isomorphy of a laser with Lorenz equations, that lasers could exhibit a non-periodic, pulsing emission, that is a chaotic emission. Even though, in the early 80s we did not believe that the Lorenz-Haken instability was inherent to real laser systems; thinking it was only an academic curiosity invented by theoreticians far removed from the daily reality of experimental laser physics, nonlinear laser dynamics was born and in 1982 after the first clear experimental evidence of laser chaos, was baptized by F. T. Arecchi These results, sharpening the perception of lasers as unstable systems, were then followed by a large number of experimental and theoretical investigations. Many researchers tried to exploit the new acquired knowledge of laser dynamics in some applications. Even though, the principal aim was still focused on avoiding instabilities to obtain a stable laser emission. Curiously, we had observed chaos in a bidirectional ring CO2 laser long before it was discovered by Prof. Arecchi's group. However, we did not pay serious attention to these findings, thinking it was the same chaotic behavior that had been previously observed in solid-state lasers. Moreover, we could not even publish our results in public scientific journals because in the Soviet Union of the 80's, during the period of Cold War, laser subjects were classified as top secret and not even the word laser was allowed to be used in open scientific literature. To evade this ban and get permission to publish our results, we had to replace the word laser by synonym words optical quantum generator . Many scientists who dealt with lasers were not allowed to go abroad and participate in international conferences. I was mainly a laser experimentalist until 1997, when I went to Canada with my own means to participate in the Summer School on Nonlinear Dynamics in Biology and Medicine organized by Leon Glass and Michael C. Mackey at McGill University in Montreal, where we took very useful lectures and practical exercises on theoretical modeling of physiological systems. Thanks to these lectures I came to realize that the world obeys universal dynamical laws, and also discovered for myself that many phenomena observed in lasers are present in a wide class of dynamical systems. This instilled in me the idea that a laser can serve as a very useful instrument to elaborate new methods for controlling nonlinear dynamics and chaos, which can be applied then to other systems, including biological and medical ones. Professor Arecchi and coworkers developed the same idea in their recent works; they do mention such similarity in the first chapter of this book. During the economically difficult period of the perestroika many scientists from the former Soviet Union had to abandon science and either go work for the industry or establish their own business. Some of the science-loving researchers who yet insisted on working at universities and research institutes had to paint roofs and towers or buy and resell things in order to survive. Many of us were looking for a job abroad. I was very fortunate to be invited first in 1992 by Professor Michel Herman from Physical Chemistry Laboratory at the University of Brussels where I spent three months working with dye lasers and fast Fourier spectroscopy. Then, thanks to Professor Ramón Corbalán who invited me to create the Laboratory of Infrared and Far Infrared Lasers at Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, I spent almost seven years in Spain, where we carried out a series of interesting experiments on laser dynamics control. During that period I was happy to visit other universities and laser laboratories, such as the laboratory of Professor Pierre Glorieux at Université de Lille (France) and Professor Fortunato Tito Arecchi at Institute de Ottica Applicata in Florence (Italy), where we carried out several collaborative experiments with CO2 lasers. I also thank Professor Ari Olafson for the kind hospitality he extended to me in Reykjavik where I spent four unforgivable months in 1996 working at the University of Iceland. Finally, to round out my scientific carrier I was invited to Mexico in 1999 where I presently work as a Research Professor at Centro de Investigaciones en Optica in Leon, Guanajuato. I wish to thank Dr. Vicente Aboites, physicist and philosopher, for his kind invitation. Although the laser technology in Mexico is not yet advanced, the government is making a great effort to help develop national laser science and technology. I thank CONACYT (National Council for Science and Technology) for partial support of the publication of this book through project No. 46973-E, in particular, and research on lasers and applications, in general. Working in the field of lasers and nonlinear dynamics at several different institutions has provided me with a broad perspective that I hope has successfully contributed to the manner in which many of the concepts are presented in this book. I thank all of the authors who contributed to this book and to the reviewers who worked under great time pressure to complete the reviewing process in a relatively short time. I sincerely hope this book will stimulate new discussions and fundamental issues to a deeper level of understanding of laser dynamics and to develop new approaches to control and synchronization of laser systems. The results of this exercise could be also useful on the definition of scientific and technological programs related to this topic.

A modern introduction to synchronization phenomena, combining the development of deep mathematical concepts with illustrative examples and practical applications.

A distinctive discussion of the nonlinear dynamical phenomena of semiconductor lasers. The book combines recent results of quantum dot laser modeling with mathematical details and an analytic understanding of nonlinear phenomena in semiconductor lasers and points out possible applications of lasers in cryptography and chaos control. This interdisciplinary approach makes it a unique and powerful source of knowledge for anyone intending to contribute to this field of research. By presenting both experimental and theoretical results, the distinguished authors consider solitary lasers with nano-structured material, as well as integrated devices with complex feedback sections. In so doing, they address such topics as the bifurcation theory of systems with time delay, analysis of chaotic dynamics, and the modeling of quantum transport. They also address chaos-based cryptography as an example of the technical application of highly nonlinear laser systems.

This book, along with its companion volume, Nonlinear Dynamics New Directions: Theoretical Aspects, covers topics ranging from fractal analysis to very specific applications of the theory of dynamical systems to biology. This second volume contains mostly new applications of the theory of dynamical systems to both engineering and biology. The first volume is devoted to fundamental aspects and includes a number of important new contributions as well as some review articles that emphasize new development prospects. The topics addressed in the two volumes include a rigorous treatment of fluctuations in dynamical systems, topics in fractal analysis, studies of the transient dynamics in biological networks, synchronization in lasers, and control of chaotic systems, among others. This book also: · Develops applications of nonlinear dynamics on a diversity of topics such as patterns of synchrony in neuronal networks, laser synchronization, control of chaotic systems, and the study of transient dynamics in biological · Includes a study of self-organized regularity in long-range systems · Explains use of Levenstein's distance for measuring lexical evolution rates

This third edition of “Semiconductor Lasers, Stability, Instability and Chaos” was significantly extended. In the previous edition, the dynamics and characteristics of chaos in semiconductor lasers after the introduction of the fundamental theory of laser chaos and chaotic dynamics induced by self-optical feedback and optical injection was discussed. Semiconductor lasers with new device structures, such as vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers and broad-area semiconductor lasers, are interesting devices from the viewpoint of chaotic dynamics since they essentially involve chaotic dynamics even in their free-running oscillations. These topics are also treated with respect to the new developments in the current edition. Also the control of such instabilities and chaos control are critical issues for applications. Another interesting and important issue of semiconductor laser chaos in this third edition is chaos synchronization between two lasers and the application to optical secure communication. One of the new topics in this edition is fast physical number generation using chaotic semiconductor lasers for secure communication and development of chaos chips and their application. As other new important topics, the recent advance of new semiconductor laser structures is presented, such as quantum-dot semiconductor lasers, quantum-cascade semiconductor lasers, vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers and physical random number generation with application to quantum key distribution. Stabilities, instabilities, and control of quantum-dot semiconductor lasers and quantum-cascade lasers are important topics in this field.

Applications of semiconductor lasers with optical feedback systems are driving rapid developments in theoretical and experimental research. The very broad wavelength-gain-bandwidth of semiconductor lasers combined with frequency-filtered, strong optical feedback create the tunable, single frequency laser systems utilised in telecommunications, environmental sensing, measurement and control. Those with weak to moderate optical feedback lead to the chaotic semiconductor lasers of private communication. This resource illustrates the diversity of dynamic laser states and the technological applications thereof, presenting a timely synthesis of current findings, and providing the roadmap for exploiting their future potential. * Provides theory-based explanations underpinned by a vast range of experimental studies on optical feedback, including conventional, phase conjugate and frequency- filtered feedback in standard, commercial and single-stripe semiconductor lasers * Includes the classic Lang-Kobayashi equation model, through to more recent theory, with new developments in techniques for solving delay differential equations and bifurcation analysis * Explores developments in self-mixing interferometry to produce sub-nanometre sensitivity in path-length measurements * Reviews tunable single frequency semiconductor lasers and systems and their diverse range of applications in sensing and optical communications * Emphasises the importance of synchronised chaotic semiconductor lasers using optical feedback and private communications systems Unlocking Dynamical Diversity illustrates all theory using real world examples gleaned from international cutting-edge research. Such an approach appeals to industry professionals working in semiconductor lasers, laser physics and laser applications and is essential reading for researchers and postgraduates in these fields.

This work addresses time-delay in complex nonlinear systems and, in particular, its applications in complex networks; its role in control theory and nonlinear optics are also investigated. Delays arise naturally in networks of coupled systems due to finite signal propagation speeds and are thus a key issue in many areas of physics, biology, medicine, and technology. Synchronization phenomena in these networks play an important role, e.g., in the context of learning, cognitive and pathological states in the brain, for secure communication with chaotic lasers or for gene regulation. The thesis includes both novel results on the control of complex dynamics by time-delayed feedback and fundamental new insights into the interplay of delay and synchronization. One of the most interesting results here is a solution to the problem of complete synchronization in general networks with large coupling delay, i.e., large distances between the nodes, by giving a universal classification of networks that has a wide range of interdisciplinary applications.

A distinctive discussion of the nonlinear dynamical phenomena of semiconductor lasers. The book combines recent results of quantum dot laser modeling with mathematical details and an analytic understanding of nonlinear phenomena in semiconductor lasers and points out possible applications of lasers in cryptography and chaos control. This interdisciplinary approach makes it a unique and powerful source of knowledge for anyone intending to contribute to this field of research. By presenting both experimental and theoretical results, the distinguished authors consider solitary lasers with nano-structured material, as well as integrated devices with complex feedback sections. In so doing, they address such topics as the bifurcation theory of systems with time delay, analysis of chaotic dynamics, and the modeling of quantum transport. They also address chaos-based cryptography as an example of the technical application of highly nonlinear laser systems.

This monograph summarizes major achievements in laser dynamics over the past three decades. The book begins with two introductory Chapters. Chapter 1 offers general considerations on quantum oscillators, formulates the requirements for the laser key elements and shows how these requirements are met in different laser systems. The second Chapter proposes the mathematical models used in semiclassical laser theory, discusses the approximations and simplifications in particular cases, and specifies the range of applicability of these models. In Chapters 3-5 attention is given primarily to the steady states and their stability, the laser behavior in the instability domain, the characteristics of regular and chaotic pulsations and the nature of their mechanisms. Chapter 6 deals with the processes in a laser, accompanying the time variance of laser parameters. Considerable attention is given to a laser response to weak, low-frequency modulation of the parameters. The problems addressed therein are resonant modulation enhancement, transition to the nonlinear regime, chaotic response to periodic impact, spike-like generation due to variation of the cavity geometry and a laser rod temperature drift. Laser behavior is subject to qualitative changes if its optical elements exhibit nonlinear properties. The action of a saturable absorber, which leads to a loss of laser stability and provides passive Q-modulation, is investigated. To a much lesser degree the researchers' attention has been attracted by other nonlinear effects such as self-focusing, e.g., which may have a strong influence on laser dynamics. All of these issues are covered in Chapter 7. The book is intended for researchers, engineers, graduate and post-graduate students majoring in quantum electronics.

Examines new cooperative control methodologies tailored to real-world applications in various domains such as in communication systems, physics systems, and multi-robotic systems Provides the fundamental mechanism for solving collective behaviors in naturally-occurring systems as well as cooperative behaviors in man-made systems Discusses cooperative control methodologies using real-world applications, including semi-conductor laser arrays, mobile sensor networks, and multi-robotic systems Includes results from the research group at the Stevens Institute of Technology to show how advanced control technologies can impact challenging issues, such as high energy systems and oil spill monitoring