Spatial deterministic chaos in optical systems and methods of its modeling

The phenomenon of spatial deterministic chaos is described. A transition from an ordinary differential equation to a discrete map is justified for modeling of the chaos. Methods of studying the chaos dynamics in this model are suggested. It is established how the physical properties of a nonlinear ring interferometer influence the structure of charts of the Lyapunov exponents. The approaches developed in the present study allow an optical cryptosystem to be optimized.__________Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 12, pp. 65–71, December, 2004.