Phase control of intermittency in dynamical systems

We present a nonfeedback method to tame or enhance crisis-induced intermittency in dynamical systems. By adding a small harmonic perturbation to a parameter of the system, the intermittent behavior can be suppressed or enhanced depending on the value of the phase difference between the main driving and the perturbation. The validity of the method is shown both in the model and in an experiment with a CO2 laser. An analysis of this scheme applied to the quadratic map near crisis illustrates the role of phase control in nonlinear dynamical systems.