Route to Chaos in the ¹⁵NH₃ far infrared ring laser

The route to chaos as the pump power is raised in the Lorenz-like ammonia laser is studied using transients and compared with the route which is expected in the Lorenz Haken equations. The differences between the routes to chaos, as normally displayed by the experimental system and the Lorenz Haken equations, is described in terms of the bifurcations experienced in each system. It is also shown that the experimental system has a small parameter regime where the route to chaos is the same as in the Lorenz Haken equations.