L\'evy noise induced transitions and enhanced stability in a birhythmic van der Pol system

Abstract

This work describes the effects of L\'evy noise on a birhythmic van der Pol like oscillator. Numerical simulations demonstrate that the noise induced escapes from an attractor to another are not markedly different from escapes between stable points in an ordinary potential, albeit the attractors are separated by a barrier of a quasi (or pseudo) potential. However, some differences appear, and are more pronounced when the L\'evy distribution index is close to two.