Networks of Pendula with Diffusive Interactions

TL;DR

This paper analyzes a Hamiltonian system of coupled pendula with diffusive interactions on networks, identifying conditions for bounded oscillations, bifurcations of synchronized states, anti-synchrony patterns, and the emergence of chaos at low energies.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the bifurcation structure and chaotic behavior of networked pendula with energy-conserving interactions, including large network analysis.

Findings

Conditions for bounded oscillations established.

Bifurcation analysis of synchronized and anti-synchronized states.

Chaotic regimes emerge at low energies.

Abstract

We study a system of coupled pendula with diffusive interactions, which could depend both on positions and on momenta. The coupling structure is defined by an undirected network, while the dynamic equations are derived from a Hamiltonian; as such, the energy is conserved. We provide sufficient conditions on the energy for bounded motion, identifying the oscillatory regime. We also describe the bifurcations of synchronised states, exploiting the quantities related to the network structure. Moreover, we consider patterns of anti-synchrony arising from the specific properties of the model. Such patterns can be linked to global properties of the system by looking at motion of the centre of mass. Nonetheless, the anti-synchrony patterns play also a relevant role in the bifurcation analysis. For the case of graphs with a large number of nodes, we characterise the parameter range in which the bifurcations occur. We complement the analysis with some numerical simulations showing the interplay between bifurcations of the origin and transitions to chaos of nearby orbits. A key feature is that the observed chaotic regime emerges at low energies.