Spatial chaos of traveling waves has a given velocity

Multistability of twisted states in non-locally coupled Kuramoto-type models

A ring of N identical phase oscillators with interactions between L-nearest neighbors is considered, where L ranges from 1 (local coupling) to N/2 (global coupling). The coupling function is a simple sinusoid, as in the Kuramoto model, but with a minus sign which has a profound influence on its behavior. Without the limitation of the generality, the frequency of the free-running oscillators can be set to zero. The resulting system is of gradient type, and therefore, all its solutions converge to an equilibrium point. All so-called q-twisted states, where the phase difference between neighboring oscillators on the ring is 2πq/N, are equilibrium points, where q is an integer. Their stability in the limit N → ∞ is discussed along the line of Wiley et al. [Chaos 16, 015103 (2006)] In addition, we prove that when a twisted state is asymptotically stable for the infinite system, it is also asymptotically stable for sufficiently large N. Note that for smaller N, the same q-twisted states may become unstable and other q-twisted states may become stable. Finally, the existence of additional equilibrium states, called here multi-twisted states, is shown by numerical simulation. The phase difference between neighboring oscillators is approximately 2πq/N in one sector of the ring, -2πq/N in another sector, and it has intermediate values between the two sectors. Our numerical investigation suggests that the number of different stable multi-twisted states grows exponentially as N → ∞. It is possible to interpret the equilibrium points of the coupled phase oscillator network as trajectories of a discrete-time translational dynamical system where the space-variable (position on the ring) plays the role of time. The q-twisted states are then fixed points, and the multi-twisted states are periodic solutions of period N that are close to a heteroclinic cycle. Due to the apparently exponentially fast growing number of such stable periodic solutions, the system shows spatial chaos as N → ∞.

Loss of coherence in dynamical networks: spatial chaos and chimera states

We discuss the breakdown of spatial coherence in networks of coupled oscillators with nonlocal interaction. By systematically analyzing the dependence of the spatiotemporal dynamics on the range and strength of coupling, we uncover a dynamical bifurcation scenario for the coherence-incoherence transition which starts with the appearance of narrow layers of incoherence occupying eventually the whole space. Our findings for coupled chaotic and periodic maps as well as for time-continuous Rössler systems reveal that intermediate, partially coherent states represent characteristic spatiotemporal patterns at the transition from coherence to incoherence.