Error-feedback control of multistability

We propose the use of error-feedback control for converting a multistable system into a monostable one. The method is tested with a multistable erbium-doped fiber laser which exhibits the coexistence of four periodic orbits. A desired orbit is selected by an external harmonic modulation which frequency is equal to the frequency of one of the coexisting attractors. Additionally, the error signal, proportional to the difference between the external modulation and the laser output intensity, is applied to the pump current of the diode pumped laser. For certain combinations of the amplitude of the external modulation and the error signal, the laser displays monostability with a single periodic orbit at frequency determined by the external modulation. The efficiency of the control is demonstrated by both numerical simulations and experimentally.