Abstract
Based on elementary quadratic chaotic flows with no equilibria, this paper proposes a novel four-dimensional hyperchaotic hidden attractor system. Compared with traditional chaotic systems, this system has more complex dynamic behaviors and higher degrees of freedom. Developing this novel system can further expand the research scope of chaos theory and reveal the intrinsic laws and characteristics of chaotic behaviors in higher dimensions.Through nonlinear dynamical analysis, the system exhibits diverse dynamic behaviors with varying parameters and possesses multiple hidden attractors, demonstrating the property of multistability. Subsequently, an analog circuit is constructed using Multisim 14.0 to further validate the system. Finally, image encryption is performed by employing different DNA encoding rules and corresponding operation rules based on chaotic sequences for diffusion. The cipher images are analyzed in terms of histograms, information entropy, and correlation. Experimental results indicate that the proposed algorithm achieves effective encryption and can withstand common attacks.