Transition to hyperchaos: Sudden expansion of attractor and intermittent large-amplitude events in dynamical systems

Hyperchaos is distinguished from chaos by the presence of at least two positive Lyapunov exponents instead of just one in dynamical systems. A general scenario is presented here that shows emergence of hyperchaos with a sudden large expansion of the attractor of continuous dynamical systems at a critical parameter when the temporal dynamics shows intermittent large-amplitude spiking or bursting events. The distribution of local maxima of the temporal dynamics is non-Gaussian with a tail, confirming a rare occurrence of the large-amplitude events. We exemplify our results on the sudden emergence of hyperchaos in three paradigmatic models, namely, a coupled Hindmarsh-Rose model, three coupled Duffing oscillators, and a hyperchaotic model.