Visualization of the “Sisyphus” attractor

We have performed numerical simulations for a semiconductor diode laser subjected to optical feedback and operating in a chaotic regime. Exploration and investigation of the resulting large data sets call for the application of visualization techniques. Ideally, this should be realized using virtual reality techniques, but for practical reasons we have opted for a more static approach in the form of a video. Using these techniques we have gained more insight into the dynamical behavior of the laser. Given the rapid development of (graphical) hardware and software, interactive visualization and animation techniques are promising tools to study and understand highly nonlinear problems. © 1997 American Institute of Physics.