Chimera states in a population of identical oscillators under planar cross-coupling

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the existence of chimera states in identical oscillators with planar cross-coupling, showing that symmetry breaking in the coupling leads to coexistence of coherent and incoherent behaviors, applicable to various oscillator types.

Contribution

It introduces a simple planar cross-coupling scheme that induces chimera states in identical oscillators, broadening understanding and potential applications of these phenomena.

Findings

Chimera states observed in van der Pol oscillators.

Chimera states observed in chaotic Rossler oscillators.

Simplifies the criteria for the existence of chimeras.

Abstract

We report the existence of a chimera state in an assembly of identical nonlinear oscillators that are globally linked to each other in a simple planar cross-coupled form. The rotational symmetry breaking of the coupling term appears to be responsible for the emergence of these collective states that display a characteristic coexistence of coherent and incoherent behaviour. Our finding, seen in both a collection of van der Pol oscillators and chaotic Rossler oscillators, further simplifies the existence criterion for chimeras and thereby broadens the range of their applicability to real world situations.