Switching in the presence of colored noise: The decay of an unstable state

Switching events are studied by means of a parametrically operated, fast transition from a monostable to a bistable potential in the continuous presence of colored noise. The problem is thus the decay of an unstable state with random initial conditions. We calculate, using contemporary colored-noise theory, and measure by analog simulation, the relaxation time to cross a reference boundary, and we contrast this with the strictly defined mean first passage time.