Global dynamical behavior of the optical field in a ring cavity

Abstract
A new class of instabilities for a plane-wave intracavity field in an optical ring resonator is identified. Dynamical systems techniques are explained and applied to the map. A bifurcation diagram is given that organizes the important information, and global pictures are developed that describe the evolution of the attractor and its basin boundary. Anomalous behavior observed in earlier numerical studies is explained.