Analogy between a 10D model for nonlinear wave–wave interaction in a plasma and the 3D Lorenz dynamics

This paper investigates nonlinear wave–wave interactions in a system that describes a modified decay instability and consists of three Langmuir and one ion-sound waves. As a means to establish that the underlying dynamics exists in a 3D space and that it is of the Lorenz-type, both continuous and discrete-time multivariable global models were obtained from data. These data were obtained from a 10D dynamical system that describes the modified decay instability obtained from Zakharov’s equations which characterise Langmuir turbulence. This 10D model is equivariant under a continuous rotation symmetry and a discrete order-2 rotation symmetry. When the continuous rotation symmetry is modded out, that is, when the dynamics are represented with the continuous rotation symmetry removed under a local diffeomorphism, it is shown that a 3D system may describe the underlying dynamics. For certain parameter values, the models, obtained using global modelling techniques from three time series from the 10D dynamics with the continuous rotation symmetry modded out, generate attractors which are topologically equivalent. These models can be simulated easily and, due to their simplicity, are amenable for analysis of the original dynamics after symmetries have been modded out. Moreover, it is shown that all of these attractors are topologically equivalent to an attractor generated by the well-known Lorenz system.