Abstract
We have observed a complex sequence of periodic states that occurs as a function of flow rate in a well-stirred continuous flow reactor. Each state is an admixture of small and large amplitude oscillations; the number of oscillations per period ranges up to 26. The oscillation pattern in even the most complex states is a combination of the simplest oscillation patterns. With the flow rate as control parameter, the ratio of the number of small to the total number of oscillations per period is a function similar to a devil's staircase. Chaos is not observed in the regime of the complex transition sequence, but chaos is observed in other regions of the parameter space-the largest Lyapunov exponent is then positive and the information dimension of the attractors is between 2 and 3.
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