Chimera Patterns Research Articles

Complex localization mechanisms in networks of coupled oscillators: Two case studies.

Localized phenomena abound in nature and throughout the physical sciences. Some universal mechanisms for localization have been characterized, such as in the snaking bifurcations of localized steady states in pattern-forming partial differential equations. While much of this understanding has been targeted at steady states, recent studies have noted complex dynamical localization phenomena in systems of coupled oscillators. These localized states can come in the form of symmetry-breaking chimera patterns that exhibit coexistence of coherence and incoherence in symmetric networks of coupled oscillators and gap solitons emerging in the bandgap of parametrically driven networks of oscillators. Here, we report detailed numerical continuations of localized time-periodic states in systems of coupled oscillators, while also documenting the numerous bifurcations they give way to. We find novel routes to localization involving bifurcations of heteroclinic cycles in networks of Janus oscillators and strange bifurcation diagrams resembling chaotic tangles in a parametrically driven array of coupled pendula. We highlight the important role of discrete symmetries and the symmetric branch points that emerge in symmetric models.

Chimera Patterns of Escherichia coli lineage with Multi Stress Hardening Resistance to Antibiotics and Ultraviolet Irradiation

Chimera Patterns of Escherichia coli lineage with Multi Stress Hardening Resistance to Antibiotics and Ultraviolet Irradiation

Dynamics, synchronization and traveling wave patterns of flux coupled network of Chay neurons

Studies in the literature have demonstrated the significance of the synchronization of neuronal electrical activity for signal transmission and information encoding. In light of this importance, we investigate the synchronization of the Chay neuron model using both theoretical analysis and numerical simulations. The Chay model is chosen for its comprehensive understanding of neuronal behavior and computational efficiency. Additionally, we explore the impact of electromagnetic induction, leading to the magnetic flux Chay neuron model. The single neuron model exhibits rich and complex dynamics for various parameter choices. We explore the bifurcation structure of the model through bifurcation diagrams and Lyapunov exponents. Subsequently, we extend our study to two coupled magnetic flux Chay neurons, identifying mode locking and structures reminiscent of Arnold’s tongue. We evaluate the stability of the synchronized manifold using Lyapunov theory and confirm our findings through simulations. Expanding our study to networks of diffusively coupled flux Chay neurons, we observe coherent, incoherent, and imperfect chimera patterns. Our investigation of three network types highlights the impact of network topology on the emergent dynamics of the Chay neuron network. Regular networks exhibit diverse patterns, small-world networks demonstrate a critical transition to coherence, and random networks showcase synchronization at specific coupling strengths. These findings significantly contribute to our understanding of the synchronization patterns exhibited by the magnetic flux Chay neuron. To assess the synchronization stability of the Chay neuron network, we employ master stability function analysis.

Chimeras in globally coupled oscillators: A review.

The surprising phenomenon of chimera in an ensemble of identical oscillators is no more strange behavior of network dynamics and reality. By this time, this symmetry breaking self-organized collective dynamics has been established in many networks, a ring of non-locally coupled oscillators, globally coupled networks, a three-dimensional network, and multi-layer networks. A variety of coupling and dynamical models in addition to the phase oscillators has been used for a successful observation of chimera patterns. Experimental verification has also been done using metronomes, pendula, chemical, and opto-electronic systems. The phenomenon has also been shown to appear in small networks, and hence, it is not size-dependent. We present here a brief review of the origin of chimera patterns restricting our discussions to networks of globally coupled identical oscillators only. The history of chimeras in globally coupled oscillators is older than what has been reported in nonlocally coupled phase oscillators much later. We elaborate the story of the origin of chimeras in globally coupled oscillators in a chronological order, within our limitations, and with brief descriptions of the significant contributions, including our personal experiences. We first introduce chimeras in non-locally coupled and other network configurations, in general, and then discuss about globally coupled networks in more detail.

Genesis of chimera patterns through self-induced stochastic resonance

Noise induced order in excitable systems has diverse manifestations, such as coherence resonance (CR) and stochastic resonance. In this context a less explored phenomenon is self-induced stochastic resonance (SISR). Unlike CR, SISR may arise away from the bifurcation threshold and the properties of the induced oscillations depend upon both the noise intensity and the time-scale separation factor. In this work, we report a new chimera pattern in a network of coupled excitable units, namely the self-induced stochastic resonance chimera or SISR-chimera that originates from the SISR phenomenon. We explore the detailed dynamics of the SISR-chimera in the parameter space using proper quantitative measures. We observe that unlike CR chimera, the SISR-chimera pattern strongly depends upon the ratio of time scale and noise intensity. Therefore, this type of chimera pattern can be induced even for a tiny noise intensity if the time scale separation of the activator and inhibitor is large enough.

Chimera states in a large laterally coupled laser array with four different waveguide structures.

Chimera states are rich and fascinating phenomena existing in many networks, where the identical oscillators self-organize into spatially separated coexisting domains of coherent and incoherent oscillations. Here, we report these states in the large laterally coupled laser array with four different waveguiding structures, with which a variety of chimera patterns can be revealed. We present the bifurcation diagrams giving birth to them and find that the chimeras exist in the boundary of the steady state and multi-period oscillation solutions, which applies to all the prevalent waveguiding structures considered. We also find that the waveguiding structures play an important role in the chimera states, e.g., the array composed of the index antiguiding with gain-guiding has a wider chimera region compared to other waveguides considered. Additionally, the effects of the crucial parameters including the laser separation ratio, pump rate, frequency detuning, and linewidth enhancement factor on the observed phenomena are discussed. Our analysis shows that the frequency detuning between lasers and the linewidth enhancement factor affects the lifetime and pattern of chimeras. The results could guide the design of laser arrays or introduce more insight into a new understanding of the dynamical behaviors of networks.

Chimera patterns in conservative Hamiltonian systems and Bose–Einstein condensates of ultracold atoms

Experimental realizations of chimera patterns, characterized by coexisting regions of phase coherence and incoherence, have so far been achieved for non-conservative systems with dissipation and exclusively in classical settings. The possibility of observing chimera patterns in quantum systems has rarely been studied and it remains an open question if chimera patterns can exist in closed, or conservative quantum systems. Here, we tackle these challenges by first proposing a conservative Hamiltonian system with nonlocal hopping, where the energy is well-defined and conserved. We show explicitly that such a system can exhibit chimera patterns. Then we propose a physical mechanism for the nonlocal hopping by using an additional mediating channel. This leads us to propose a possible experimentally realizable quantum system based on a two-component Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) with a spin-dependent optical lattice, where an untrapped component serves as the matter-wave mediating field. In this BEC system, nonlocal spatial hopping over tens of lattice sites can be achieved and simulations suggest that chimera patterns should be observable in certain parameter regimes.

Chimera patterns with spatial random swings between periodic attractors in a network of FitzHugh-Nagumo oscillators.

For the study of symmetry-breaking phenomena in neuronal networks, simplified versions of the FitzHugh-Nagumo model are widely used. In this paper, these phenomena are investigated in a network of FitzHugh-Nagumo oscillators taken in the form of the original model and it is found that it exhibits diverse partial synchronization patterns that are unobserved in the networks with simplified models. Apart from the classical chimera, we report a new type of chimera pattern whose incoherent clusters are characterized by spatial random swings among a few fixed periodic attractors. Another peculiar hybrid state is found that combines the features of this chimera state and a solitary state such that the main coherent cluster is interspersed with some nodes with identical solitary dynamics. In addition, oscillation death including chimera death emerges in this network. A reduced model of the network is derived to study oscillation death, which helps explaining the transition from spatial chaos to oscillation death via the chimera state with a solitary state. This study deepens our understanding of chimera patterns in neuronal networks.

Collective Motion and Pattern Formation in Phase-Synchronizing Active Fluids

Many active particles, such as swimming micro-organisms or motor proteins, do work on their environment by going though a periodic sequence of shapes. Interactions between particles can lead to synchronization of their duty cycles. Here, we study the collective dynamics of a suspension of active particles coupled through hydrodynamics. We find that at high enough density the system transitions to a state of collective motion by a mechanism that is distinct from other instabilities in active matter systems. Second, we demonstrate that the emergent nonequilibrium states feature stationary chimera patterns in which synchronized and phase-isotropic regions coexist. Third, we show that in confinement, oscillatory flows and robust unidirectional pumping states exist, and can be selected by choice of alignment boundary conditions. These results point toward a new route to collective motion and pattern formation and could guide the design of new active materials.

Two-attractor chimera and solitary states in a network of nonlocally coupled birhythmic van der Pol oscillators

In this paper, a network of van der Pol oscillators with extended nonlinearity is considered in the context of studies on symmetry-breaking phenomena. The van der Pol oscillator with extended nonlinearity has been widely considered as a model for coherent oscillations in enzyme–substrate systems. The particularity of this model is its multistability known as birhythmicity. Due to this feature of the local dynamics, the coupled dynamics shows a rich variety of symmetry-breaking phenomena, among which peculiar chimera and solitary states involving two types of attractors, namely a large limit cycle and a smaller attractor with quasiperiodic-like oscillations. The units of the main incoherent regions of a pattern of this two-attractor chimera evolve only on the large limit cycle whereas those of the main coherent regions evolve only on the smaller attractor. Also, as a consequence of birhythmicity, the mean phase velocity profile of this chimera pattern shows two levels of frequency, each level corresponding to each attractor. On the other hand, the frequencies of oscillations of the solitary units of the solitary states found there are different from the common frequency of oscillations in the coherent cluster, contrary to the classical solitary states for which all the network units are frequency locked. Interestingly, a phenomenon of coupling-induced birhythmicity is found here: two-attractor patterns emerge in the considered network with monorhythmic local dynamics. This study deepens our understanding of patterns formation in coupled multistable systems.

Spiral wave chimeras in populations of oscillators coupled to a slowly varying diffusive environment

Chimera states are firstly discovered in nonlocally coupled oscillator systems. Such a nonlocal coupling arises typically as oscillators are coupled via an external environment whose characteristic time scale τ is so small (i.e., τ → o) that it could be eliminated adiabatically. Nevertheless, whether the chimera states still exist in the opposite situation (i.e., τ ≫ 1) is unknown. Here, by coupling large populations of Stuart—Landau oscillators to a diffusive environment, we demonstrate that spiral wave chimeras do exist in this oscillator-environment coupling system even when τ is very large. Various transitions such as from spiral wave chimeras to spiral waves or unstable spiral wave chimeras as functions of the system parameters are explored. A physical picture for explaining the formation of spiral wave chimeras is also provided. The existence of spiral wave chimeras is further confirmed in ensembles of FitzHugh—Nagumo oscillators with the similar oscillator-environment coupling mechanism. Our results provide an affirmative answer to the observation of spiral wave chimeras in populations of oscillators mediated via a slowly changing environment and give important hints to generate chimera patterns in both laboratory and realistic chemical or biological systems.

Diverse coherence-resonance chimeras in coupled type-I excitable systems.

Coherence-resonance chimera was discovered in [Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 014102 (2016)10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.014102], which combines the effect of coherence-resonance and classical chimeras in the presence of noise in a network of type-II excitable systems. However, the same in a network of type-I excitable units has not been observed yet. In this paper we report the occurrence of coherence-resonance chimera in coupled type-I excitable systems. We consider a paradigmatic model of type-I excitability, namely, the saddle-node infinite period model, and show that the coherence-resonance chimera appears over an optimum range of noise intensity. Moreover, we discover a unique chimera pattern that is a mixture of classical chimera and the coherence-resonance chimera. We support our results using quantitative measures and map them in parameter space. This study reveals that the coherence-resonance chimera is a general chimera pattern and thus it deepens our understanding of role of noise in coupled excitable systems.

Bistability-induced chimeras in one-dimensional paced excitable rings with nonlocal couplings

In this paper, we provide a bistability mechanism for giving rise to a new kind of chimeras in the one-dimensional (1D) paced nonlocally coupled excitable rings without rotational coupling scheme. It is shown that the elements in the system can perform distinct modes and give rise to the chimera pattern. By analyzing the response dynamics in the corresponding local excitable model with the same pacing, the initial-excitation–dependent bistability feature is revealed as the mechanism responsible for this chimera state. Furthermore, this bistability-induced chimera state is found to be pacing dependent, and the chimera parameter regions on the phase plane of pacing amplitude and frequency are shown explicitly. Importantly, this new kind of chimera pattern can also self-organize to emerge in other paradigmatic network models, implying the genericity of the bistability mechanism in inducing chimeras in paced excitable complex networks. The present work is expected to shed light on new perspectives of the chimeras in excitable systems.

Taming non-stationary chimera states in locally coupled oscillators

The imperfect traveling chimera (ITC) state is a novel non-stationary chimera pattern in which the incoherent domain of oscillators spreads into the coherent domain. We investigate the ITC state in locally coupled pendulum oscillators with heterogeneous driving forces. We introduce the heterogeneous phase value in the driving forces by two different ways, namely, the random phase from uniform distribution and random phase directions with identical amplitude. We discover two transition mechanisms from ITC to coherent state through traveling chimera-like state by taking the two different phase heterogeneity. The transition phenomena are investigated using cylindrical and polar coordinate phase spaces. In the numerical study, we propose a quantitative measurement named "spatiotemporal consistency" strength for distinguishing the ITC from the traveling one. Our research facilitates the exploration of potential applications of heterogeneous interactions in neuroscience.

Chimera Patterns of Synchrony in a Frustrated Array of Hebb Synapses.

The union of the Kuramoto–Sakaguchi model and the Hebb dynamics reproduces the Lisman switch through a bistability in synchronized states. Here, we show that, within certain ranges of the frustration parameter, the chimera pattern can emerge, causing a different, time-evolving, distribution in the Hebbian synaptic strengths. We study the stability range of the chimera as a function of the frustration (phase-lag) parameter. Depending on the range of the frustration, two different types of chimeras can appear spontaneously, i.e., from randomized initial conditions. In the first type, the oscillators in the coherent region rotate, on average, slower than those in the incoherent region; while in the second type, the average rotational frequencies of the two regions are reversed, i.e., the coherent region runs, on average, faster than the incoherent region. We also show that non-stationary behavior at finite N can be controlled by adjusting the natural frequency of a single pacemaker oscillator. By slowly cycling the frequency of the pacemaker, we observe hysteresis in the system. Finally, we discuss how we can have a model for learning and memory.

Diverse chimera and symmetry-breaking patterns induced by fractional derivation effect in a network of Stuart-Landau oscillators

In this paper, we study the impact of fractional derivation on the symmetry-breaking dynamics of a network of coupled fractional-order Stuart-Landau oscillators. It is found that the value of the fractional derivatives order has a significant impact on the network dynamics. A decrease in the derivatives order results in complex dynamical patterns that are unobserved in the coupled integer-order system, namely solitary oscillation death state, multi-cluster chimera death, incoherent oscillation death, one-headed amplitude chimera, two-headed amplitude chimera, coherent travelling waves, and amplitude chimera on traveling waves background. It is also found that the fractional derivation can contribute to extend the lifetime of the amplitude chimeras. The stability of some of these states is investigated analytically, which allows to predict their regions of existence in the parameter space. Then, these dynamical features of the network are characterized to be mapped in the global parameter space. Significantly, with a decreasing derivatives order, the amplitude chimeras whose drifting oscillators are characterized by damped oscillations become short lived transient states that are eventually transformed into incoherent oscillation death states. A lower value of the fractional derivatives order inhibits amplitude chimeras and in-phase synchronized state, and promotes diverse oscillation death and chimera death states. The present study will deepen our understanding of chimera states in several natural systems that are essentially fractional in their dynamics.

Symmetry-breaking mechanism for the formation of cluster chimera patterns.

The emergence of order in collective dynamics is a fascinating phenomenon that characterizes many natural systems consisting of coupled entities. Synchronization is such an example where individuals, usually represented by either linear or nonlinear oscillators, can spontaneously act coherently with each other when the interactions' configuration fulfills certain conditions. However, synchronization is not always perfect, and the coexistence of coherent and incoherent oscillators, broadly known in the literature as chimera states, is also possible. Although several attempts have been made to explain how chimera states are created, their emergence, stability, and robustness remain a long-debated question. We propose an approach that aims to establish a robust mechanism through which cluster synchronization and chimera patterns originate. We first introduce a stability-breaking method where clusters of synchronized oscillators can emerge. At variance with the standard approach where synchronization arises as a collective behavior of coupled oscillators, in our model, the system initially sets on a homogeneous fixed-point regime, and, only due to a global instability principle, collective oscillations emerge. Following a combination of the network modularity and the model's parameters, one or more clusters of oscillators become incoherent within yielding a particular class of patterns that we here name cluster chimera states.

Smallest Chimeras Under Repulsive Interactions.

We present an exemplary system of three identical oscillators in a ring interacting repulsively to show up chimera patterns. The dynamics of individual oscillators is governed by the superconducting Josephson junction. Surprisingly, the repulsive interactions can only establish a symmetry of complete synchrony in the ring, which is broken with increasing repulsive interactions when the junctions pass through serials of asynchronous states (periodic and chaotic) but finally emerge into chimera states. The chimera pattern first appears in chaotic rotational motion of the three junctions when two junctions evolve coherently, while the third junction is incoherent. For larger repulsive coupling, the junctions evolve into another chimera pattern in a periodic state when two junctions remain coherent in rotational motion and one junction transits to incoherent librational motion. This chimera pattern is sensitive to initial conditions in the sense that the chimera state flips to another pattern when two junctions switch to coherent librational motion and the third junction remains in rotational motion, but incoherent. The chimera patterns are detected by using partial and global error functions of the junctions, while the librational and rotational motions are identified by a libration index. All the collective states, complete synchrony, desynchronization, and two chimera patterns are delineated in a parameter plane of the ring of junctions, where the boundaries of complete synchrony are demarcated by using the master stability function.

Collective behavior of cortico-thalamic circuits: Logic gates as the thalamus and a dynamical neuronal network as the cortex

This paper introduces a two-layer network to investigate the effects of cortico-thalamic circuits on the cortexʼs collective behavior. In the brain, different parts of the cortex collaborate to process information. One of the main parts, which is the path of different cortex contacts, is the thalamus whose circuit is referred to as the “vertical” cortico-thalamic connectivity. Thalamus subnuclei can participate in the processing of the information that passes through them. It has been shown that they play the functional role of logic gates (AND, OR and XOR). To study how these thalamus circuits affect the cortical neuron behavior, a two-layer network is proposed wherein the cortex layer is composed of Hindmarsh–Rose models and the thalamus layer is constructed with logic gates. Results show that considering these logic gates can lead the network towards different synchronization, asynchronization, chimera and solitary patterns. It is revealed that for AND-gate and OR-gate, increasing the number of gates or their outputs can increase and decrease the networkʼs coherency in excitatory and inhibitory cases, respectively. However, considering XOR-gates always results in the chimera state.

Traveling chimera patterns in a two-dimensional neuronal network

We study the emergence of the traveling chimera state in a two-dimensional network of Hindmarsh-Rose burst neurons with the mutual presence of local and non-local couplings. We show that in the unique presence of the non-local chemical coupling modeled by a nonlinear function, the traveling chimera phenomenon occurs with a displacement in both directions of the plane of the grid. The introduction of local electrical coupling shows that the mutual influence of the two types of coupling can, for certain values, generate traveling chimera, imperfect-traveling, traveling multi-clusters, and alternating traveling chimera, i.e. the presence in the network under study, of patterns of coherent elements interspersed by other incoherent elements in movement and alternately changing their position over time. The confirmation of the states of coherence is done by introducing the parameter of the instantaneous local order parameter in two dimensions. Finally we extend our analysis through mathematical tools such as the Hamilton energy function to determine the direction of patterns' propagation in two dimensions.