# Heteroclinic switching between chimeras

## TL;DR

This paper analyzes how higher-order interactions in phase oscillator networks lead to metastable chimera states connected by heteroclinic trajectories, explaining switching dynamics in neuronal-like systems.

## Contribution

It provides exact results on the emergence of metastable chimeras due to higher-order interactions and elucidates the mechanisms behind switching dynamics in phase oscillator networks.

## Key findings

- Higher-order interactions induce metastable chimeras.
- Heteroclinic connections enable switching between states.
- Mechanisms are applicable to neuronal network models.

## Abstract

Functional oscillator networks, such as neuronal networks in the brain, exhibit switching between metastable states involving many oscillators. We give exact results how such global dynamics can arise in paradigmatic phase oscillator networks: higher-order network interaction gives rise to metastable chimeras - localized frequency synchrony patterns - which are joined by heteroclinic connections. Moreover, we illuminate the mechanisms that underly the switching dynamics in these experimentally accessible networks.