Control of forced self-sustained oscillations via a backward time controller

A weakly non-linear self-sustained oscillator can be synchronized by an external force only in a certain domain of parameters. We exploit unstable periodic orbits and extend this domain via a small control perturbation. The controller is constructed as a backward time replica of the original oscillator that has the same periodic orbits but with the opposite stability properties. The control is achieved by synchronizing the original oscillator with its backward time replica. We demonstrate these ideas both theoretically and experimentally. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.