Phase holonomy underlies puzzling temporal patterns in Kuramoto models with two sub-populations.

Abstract

We present a geometric investigation of curious dynamical behaviors previously reported in Kuramoto models with two sub-populations. Our study demonstrates that chimeras and traveling waves in such models are associated with the birth of geometric phase. Although manifestations of geometric phase are frequent in various fields of physics, this is the first time (to our best knowledge) that such a phenomenon is exposed in ensembles of Kuramoto oscillators or, more broadly, in complex systems.