Dynamical states and bifurcations of a thermal lens using spectral analysis

Dynamical states and bifurcations of a thermal lens are studied with use of spectral analysis. The following dynamical states are observed: steady, periodic, quasiperiodic with two fundamental frequencies, and subharmonic states. Hysteresis is observed in the transition between periodic and quasiperiodic oscillations. Although chaos is not observed in the present work, thermal-lens oscillations can also lead to chaos as previously published. The control parameters are the laser power P and a distance d. The boundaries of the different dynamical states are given in the plane (P,d). Properties of the different dynamical states and of the transitions between states are studied.