Chimera states in three dimensions

Abstract

The chimera state is a recently discovered dynamical phenomenon in arrays of nonlocally coupled oscillators, that displays a self-organized spatial pattern of coexisting coherence and incoherence. In this paper, the first evidence of three-dimensional chimera states is reported for the Kuramoto model of phase oscillators in 3D grid topology with periodic boundary conditions. Systematic analysis of the dependence of the spatiotemporal dynamics on the range and strength of coupling shows that there are two principal classes of the chimera patterns which exist in large domains of the parameter space: (I) oscillating and (II) spirally rotating. Characteristic examples from the first class include coherent as well as incoherent balls, tubes, crosses, and layers in incoherent or coherent surrounding; the second class includes scroll waves with incoherent, randomized rolls of different modality and dynamics. Numerical simulations started from various initial conditions indicate that the states are stable over the integration time. Videos of the dynamics of the chimera states are presented in supplementary material. It is concluded that three-dimensional chimera states, which are novel spatiotemporal patterns involving the coexistence of coherent and incoherent domains, can represent one of the inherent features of nature.