Chaotic behaviour in deformable models: the asymmetric doubly periodic oscillators

The motion of a particle in a one-dimensional perturbed asymmetric doubly periodic (ASDP) potential is investigated analytically and numerically. A simple physical model for calculating analytically the Melnikov function is proposed. The onset of chaos is studied through an analysis of the phase space, a construction of the bifurcation diagram and a computation of the Lyapunov exponent. Theory predicts the regions of chaotic behaviour of orbits in a good agreement with computer calculations.