| Abstract: | We present the results of numerical simulation of nonlinear dynamics in a relativistic backward-wave oscillator (BWO) over a broad range of parameters. A comprehensive study of the onset of self-modulation is carried out. It is found that the self-modulation boundary in the parameter plane has a complex shape. This is due to the competition between two different dynamical modes leading to the instability of single-frequency stationary oscillations. It is shown that the transition to chaos through period doubling bifurcations characteristic of a nonrelativistic BWO exists only for small values of the relativistic factor γ0, while the transition through intermittency dominates for large γ0. Higher College for Applied Sciences, State University of Saratov, Russia. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 42, No. 6, pp.566–572, June 1999. |
