Non-Abelian Kuramoto models and synchronization

Abstract

We describe non-Abelian generalizations of the Kuramoto model for any classical compact Lie group and identify their main properties. These models may be defined on any complex network where the variable at each node is an element of the unitary group U(n), or a subgroup of U(n). The nonlinear evolution equations maintain the unitarity of all variables which therefore evolve on the compact manifold of U(n). Synchronization of trajectories with phase locking occurs as for the Kuramoto model, for values of the coupling constant larger than a critical value, and may be measured by various order and disorder parameters. Limit cycles are characterized by a frequency matrix which is independent of the node and is determined by minimizing a function which is quadratic in the variables. We perform numerical computations for n = 2, for which the SU(2) group manifold is S3, for a range of natural frequencies and all-to-all coupling, in order to confirm synchronization properties. We also describe a second generalization of the Kuramoto model which is formulated in terms of real m-vectors confined to the (m − 1)-sphere for any positive integer m, and investigate trajectories numerically for the S2 model. This model displays a variety of synchronization phenomena in which trajectories generally synchronize spatially but are not necessarily phase-locked, even for large values of the coupling constant.