Multi-characteristic heterogeneous attractors: Construction, assessment, and encryption application

Xuenan Peng, Cong Ye, Zihan Zhong, Guangfu Luo, Chenqi Dai and Chunlai Li

Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, 2026, vol. 208, issue P1

Abstract: Chaotic systems, owing to their pseudo-randomness, are widely applied in diverse areas such as random number generation and information security. However, many existing systems suffer from limited complexity and performance degradation in hardware implementations. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a four-dimensional chaotic system that can generate hyperchaotic and coexisting attractors, which are termed as multi-characteristic attractors. By adjusting the signs and magnitudes of the nonlinear terms, as well as the parameters of the linear terms, the system can produce attractors with diverse phases, amplitudes, and topological structures. Moreover, the incorporation of piecewise-linear controllers enables the merging of these attractors, resulting in the emergence of multi-characteristic heterogeneous attractors. To validate its practical viability, the system is implemented on an FPGA platform, and its hardware-level performance is thoroughly evaluated. Finally, a ‘finding seat’ scrambling-based image encryption algorithm is devised that leverages the proposed system as a pseudo-random number generator, thereby demonstrating its potential for information security applications.

Keywords: Chaotic system; Chaos enhancement; Image encryption; FPGA; Pseudo random number generator (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:chsofr:v:208:y:2026:i:p1:s0960077926002882

DOI: 10.1016/j.chaos.2026.118147

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