Sequential synchronization of chaotic systems with an application to communication.

We propose a hierarchically structured communication system by using sequentially synchronized chaotic systems. Sequential synchronization is attained by first feeding a noiselike signal to a variable of the first transmitter and its receiver simultaneously and then feeding a variable of the first transmitter and its receiver to a variable of the second transmitter and its receiver, respectively, for subsequent feedings of variables in sequence. When this is applied to communication, the hierarchical structure enables selective protection of information due to the sequential property. We illustrate this in sequentially synchronized Navier-Stokes and Lorenz equations.