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Homoclinic chaos in the Rössler model
We study the origin of homoclinic chaos in the classical 3D model proposed by O. Rössler in 1976. Of our particular interest are the convoluted bifurcations of the Shilnikov saddle-foci and how their synergy determines the global unfolding of the model, along with transformations of its chaotic attractors. We apply two computational methods proposed, 1D return maps and a symbolic approach specifically tailored to this model, to scrutinize homoclinic bifurcations, as well as to detect the regions of structurally stable and chaotic dynamics in the parameter space of the Rössler model. This paper is dedicated to Otto Rössler on the occasion of his 80th anniversary. He, being one of the pioneers in the chaosland, proposed a number of simple models with chaotic 1,2 and hyper-chaotic 3 dynamics that became classics in the field of applied dynamical systems. The goal of our paper is to examine and articulate the pivotal role and interplay of two Shilnikov saddle-foci 4 in the famous 3D Rössler model as they shape the topology of the chaotic attractors such as spiral, screw-type without and with funnels , and homoclinic, as well as determine their metamorphoses , existence domains and boundaries. Using the symbolic approach we biparametrically sweep its parameter space to identify and describe periodicity/stability islands within chaoticity, as well as to examine in detail a tangled homoclinic unfolding that invisibly bounds the observable dynamics. The innovative use of 1D return maps generated by solutions of the model lets us quantify the complexity of chaotic attractors and provides a universal framework for the description of a rich multiplicity of homo-clinic phenomena that the classical Rössler model is notorious for.