Fluctuational transitions through a fractal basin boundary

Fluctuational transitions between two co-existing chaotic attractors, separated by a fractal basin boundary, are studied in a discrete dynamical system. It is shown that the mechanism for such transitions is determined by a hierarchy of homoclinic points. The most probable escape path from the chaotic attractor to the fractal boundary is found using both statistical analyses of fluctuational trajectories and the Hamiltonian theory of fluctuations.