Basins of Attraction of a Nonlinear Nanomechanical Resonator

We present an experiment that systematically probes the basins of attraction of two fixed points of a nonlinear nanomechanical resonator and maps them out with high resolution. We observe a separatrix which progressively alters shape for varying drive strength and changes the relative areas of the two basins of attraction. The observed separatrix is blurred due to ambient fluctuations, including residual noise in the drive system, which cause uncertainty in the preparation of an initial state close to the separatrix. We find a good agreement between the experimentally mapped and theoretically calculated basins of attraction.