Amplitude death in nonlinear oscillators with nonlinear coupling

Locally repulsive coupling-induced tunable oscillations

The precise amplitude and period of neuronal oscillations are crucial for the functioning of neuronal networks. We propose a chain model featuring a repulsive coupling at the first node, followed by attractive couplings at subsequent nodes. This model allows for the simultaneous regulation of both quantities. The repulsive coupling at the first neuron enables it to act as a pacemaker, generating oscillations whose amplitude and period are correlated with the coupling strength. At the same time, attractive couplings help transmit these oscillations along the chain, leading to collective oscillations of varying scales. Our study demonstrates that a three-node chain with locally repulsive coupling forms the fundamental structure for generating tunable oscillations. By using a simplified neuron model, we investigate how locally repulsive coupling affects the amplitude and period of oscillations and find results that align with numerical observations. These findings indicate that repulsive couplings play a crucial role in regulating oscillatory patterns within neuronal networks.

Robust design against frequency variation for amplitude death in delay-coupled oscillators

Amplitude death has the potential to suppress unwanted oscillations in various engineering applications. However, in some engineering applications, such as dc microgrids, airfoil systems, and thermoacoustic systems, oscillation frequency is highly susceptible to external influences, leading to considerable variations. To maintain amplitude death amidst these frequency variations, we propose a design procedure that is robust against frequency variation for inducing amplitude death in delay-coupled oscillators. We first analytically derive the oscillator frequency band in which amplitude death can occur. The frequency bandwidth is maximized when the coupling strength is inversely proportional to the connection delay. Furthermore, our analysis reveals that the oscillator frequency band is influenced by the minimum eigenvalue of the normalized adjacency matrix (i.e., network topology) and that bipartite networks exhibit limited robustness to frequency variations. Our design procedure maintains the stability of amplitude death even under substantial frequency variations and is applicable to various network topologies. Numerical simulations confirm the validity of the proposed design.

Solitary death in coupled limit cycle oscillators with higher-order interactions

Coupled limit cycle oscillators with pairwise interactions are known to depict phase transitions from an oscillatory state to amplitude or oscillation death. This Research Letter introduces a scheme to incorporate higher-order interactions which cannot be decomposed into pairwise interactions and investigates the dynamical evolution of Stuart-Landau oscillators under the impression of such a coupling. We discover an oscillator death state through a first-order (explosive) phase transition in which a single, coupling-dependent stable death state away from the origin exists in isolation without being accompanied by any other stable state usually existing for pairwise couplings. We call such a state a solitary death state. Contrary to widespread subcritical Hopf bifurcation, here we report homoclinic bifurcation as an origin of the explosive death state. Moreover, this explosive transition to the death state is preceded by a surge in amplitude and followed by a revival of the oscillations. The analytical value of the critical coupling strength for the solitary death state agrees with the simulation results. Finally, we point out the resemblance of the results with different dynamical states associated with epileptic seizures.

Finding influential nodes in networks using pinning control: Centrality measures confirmed with electrochemical oscillators

The spatiotemporal organization of networks of dynamical units can break down resulting in diseases (e.g., in the brain) or large-scale malfunctions (e.g., power grid blackouts). Re-establishment of function then requires identification of the optimal intervention site from which the network behavior is most efficiently re-stabilized. Here, we consider one such scenario with a network of units with oscillatory dynamics, which can be suppressed by sufficiently strong coupling and stabilizing a single unit, i.e., pinning control. We analyze the stability of the network with hyperbolas in the control gain vs coupling strength state space and identify the most influential node (MIN) as the node that requires the weakest coupling to stabilize the network in the limit of very strong control gain. A computationally efficient method, based on the Moore-Penrose pseudoinverse of the network Laplacian matrix, was found to be efficient in identifying the MIN. In addition, we have found that in some networks, the MIN relocates when the control gain is changed, and thus, different nodes are the most influential ones for weakly and strongly coupled networks. A control theoretic measure is proposed to identify networks with unique or relocating MINs. We have identified real-world networks with relocating MINs, such as social and power grid networks. The results were confirmed in experiments with networks of chemical reactions, where oscillations in the networks were effectively suppressed through the pinning of a single reaction site determined by the computational method.

Quenching of oscillation by the limiting factor of diffusively coupled oscillators

A simple limiting factor in the intrinsic variable of the normal diffusive coupling is known to facilitate the phenomenon of reviving of oscillation [Zou et al., Nat. Commun. 6, 7709 (2015)2041-172310.1038/ncomms8709], where the limiting factor destabilizes the stable steady states, thereby resulting in the manifestation of the stable oscillatory states. In contrast, in this work we show that the same limiting factor can indeed facilitate the manifestation of the stable steady states by destabilizing the stable oscillatory state. In particular, the limiting factor in the intrinsic variable facilitates the genesis of a nontrivial amplitude death via a saddle-node infinite-period limit (SNIPER) bifurcation and symmetry-breaking oscillation death via a saddle-node bifurcation among the coupled identical oscillators. The limiting factor facilities the onset of symmetric oscillation death among the coupled nonidentical oscillators. It is known that the nontrivial amplitude death state manifests via a subcritical pitchfork bifurcation in general. Nevertheless, here we observe the transition to the nontrivial amplitude death via a SNIPER bifurcation. The in-phase oscillatory state loses its stability via the SNIPER bifurcation, resulting in the manifestation of the nontrivial amplitude death state, whereas the out-of-phase oscillatory state loses its stability via a homoclinic bifurcation, resulting in an unstable oscillatory state. Multistabilities among the various dynamical states are also observed. We have also deduced the evolution equation for the perturbation governing the stability of the observed dynamical states and stability conditions for SNIPER and pitchfork bifurcations. The generic nature of the effect of the limiting factor is also reinforced using two distinct nonlinear oscillators.

Occasional coupling enhances amplitude death in delay-coupled oscillators

This paper aims to study amplitude death in time delay coupled oscillators using the occasional coupling scheme that implies intermittent interaction among the oscillators. An enhancement of amplitude death regions (i.e., an increment of the width of the amplitude death regions along the control parameter axis) can be possible using the occasional coupling in a pair of delay-coupled oscillators. Our study starts with coupled limit cycle oscillators (Stuart-Landau) and coupled chaotic oscillators (Rössler). We further examine coupled horizontal Rijke tubes, a prototypical model of thermoacoustic systems. Oscillatory states are highly detrimental to thermoacoustic systems such as combustors. Consequently, a state of amplitude death is always preferred. We employ the on-off coupling (i.e., a square wave function), as an occasional coupling scheme, to these coupled oscillators. On monotonically varying the coupling strength (as a control parameter), we observe an enhancement of amplitude death regions using the occasional coupling scheme compared to the continuous coupling scheme. In order to study the contribution of the occasional coupling scheme, we perform a detailed linear stability analysis and analytically explain this enhancement of the amplitude death region for coupled limit cycle oscillators. We also adopt the frequency ratio of the oscillators and the time delay between the oscillators as the control parameters. Intriguingly, we obtain a similar enhancement of the amplitude death regions using the frequency ratio and time delay as the control parameters in the presence of the occasional coupling. Finally, we use a half-wave rectified sinusoidal wave function (motivated by practical reality) to introduce the occasional coupling in time delay coupled oscillators and get similar results.

Oscillation suppression and chimera states in time-varying networks

Complex network theory has offered a powerful platform for the study of several natural dynamic scenarios, based on the synergy between the interaction topology and the dynamics of its constituents. With research in network theory being developed so fast, it has become extremely necessary to move from simple network topologies to more sophisticated and realistic descriptions of the connectivity patterns. In this context, there is a significant amount of recent works that have emerged with enormous evidence establishing the time-varying nature of the connections among the constituents in a large number of physical, biological, and social systems. The recent review article by Ghosh et al. [Phys. Rep. 949, 1-63 (2022)] demonstrates the significance of the analysis of collective dynamics arising in temporal networks. Specifically, the authors put forward a detailed excerpt of results on the origin and stability of synchronization in time-varying networked systems. However, among the complex collective dynamical behaviors, the study of the phenomenon of oscillation suppression and that of other diverse aspects of synchronization are also considered to be central to our perception of the dynamical processes over networks. Through this review, we discuss the principal findings from the research studies dedicated to the exploration of the two collective states, namely, oscillation suppression and chimera on top of time-varying networks of both static and mobile nodes. We delineate how temporality in interactions can suppress oscillation and induce chimeric patterns in networked dynamical systems, from effective analytical approaches to computational aspects, which is described while addressing these two phenomena. We further sketch promising directions for future research on these emerging collective behaviors in time-varying networks.

Emergent Dynamics and Spatio Temporal Patterns on Multiplex Neuronal Networks

We present a study on the emergence of a variety of spatio temporal patterns among neurons that are connected in a multiplex framework, with neurons on two layers with different functional couplings. With the Hindmarsh-Rose model for the dynamics of single neurons, we analyze the possible patterns of dynamics in each layer separately and report emergent patterns of activity like in-phase synchronized oscillations and amplitude death (AD) for excitatory coupling and anti-phase mixed-mode oscillations (MMO) in multi-clusters with phase regularities when the connections are inhibitory. When they are multiplexed, with neurons of one layer coupled with excitatory synaptic coupling and neurons of the other layer coupled with inhibitory synaptic coupling, we observe the transfer or selection of interesting patterns of collective behavior between the layers. While the revival of oscillations occurs in the layer with excitatory coupling, the transition from anti-phase to in-phase and vice versa is observed in the other layer with inhibitory synaptic coupling. We also discuss how the selection of these spatio temporal patterns can be controlled by tuning the intralayer or interlayer coupling strengths or increasing the range of non-local coupling. With one layer having electrical coupling while the other synaptic coupling of excitatory(inhibitory)type, we find in-phase(anti-phase) synchronized patterns of activity among neurons in both layers.

Effect of parameter mismatch and dissipative coupling on amplitude death regime in a coupled nonlinear aeroelastic system

Amplitude death (AD) has been recently identified as a phenomenon that can be exploited to stop unwanted large amplitude oscillations arising from instabilities in engineering systems. These oscillations are a consequence of the occurrence of dynamic instability, for example, the flutter instability, which results in the manifestation of sustained limit cycle oscillations. Recent studies have demonstrated amplitude death in coupled aeroelastic systems with identical parameters using suitable reactive coupling. Deriving impetus from the same, the dynamical signatures of coupled non-identical aeroelastic systems under a variety of coupling characteristics are investigated in the present study. The coupling characteristics between the individual airfoils here are assumed to possess both reactive and dissipative terms and are represented via a linear torsional spring and a damper, respectively. Explicit parameter mismatch is introduced via the use of different structural parameters such as frequency ratio and air-mass ratio for the individual airfoils. We demonstrate that a nonlinear coupled aeroelastic system with parameter mismatch and combined coupling characteristics gives rise to broader regimes of AD in aeroelastic systems. Specifically, the possibility of encountering large amplitude oscillations, usually found with pure reactive coupling can be avoided by adding a dissipative coupling term. On introducing dissipative coupling, the regime of AD was found to increase substantially, for both identical and non-identical scenarios, which in turn aids in serving as an effective tool to be developed further toward the application of flutter instability suppression.

Amplitude death in coupled replicator map lattice: Averting migration dilemma

Populations composed of a collection of subpopulations (demes) with random migration between them are quite common occurrences. The emergence and sustenance of cooperation in such a population is a highly researched topic in the evolutionary game theory. If the individuals in every deme are considered to be either cooperators or defectors, the migration dilemma can be envisaged: The cooperators would not want to migrate to a defector-rich deme as they fear of facing exploitation; but without migration, cooperation cannot be established throughout the network of demes. With a view to studying the aforementioned scenario, in this paper, we set up a theoretical model consisting of a coupled map lattice of replicator maps based on two-player-two-strategy games. The replicator map considered is capable of showing a variety of evolutionary outcomes, like convergent (fixed point) outcomes and nonconvergent (periodic and chaotic) outcomes. Furthermore, this coupled network of the replicator maps undergoes the phenomenon of amplitude death leading to nonoscillatory stable synchronized states. We specifically explore the effect of (i) the nature of coupling that models migration between the maps, (ii) the heterogenous demes (in the sense that not all the demes have the same game being played by the individuals), (iii) the degree of the network, and (iv) the cost associated with the migration. In the course of investigation, we are intrigued by the effectiveness of the random migration in sustaining a uniform cooperator fraction across a population irrespective of the details of the replicator dynamics and the interaction among the demes.

Predicting amplitude death with machine learning

In nonlinear dynamics, a parameter drift can lead to a sudden and complete cessation of the oscillations of the state variables-the phenomenon of amplitude death. The underlying bifurcation is one at which the system settles into a steady state from chaotic or regular oscillations. As the normal functioning of many physical, biological, and physiological systems hinges on oscillations, amplitude death is undesired. To predict amplitude death in advance of its occurrence based solely on oscillatory time series collected while the system still functions normally is a challenge problem. We exploit machine learning to meet this challenge. In particular, we develop the scheme of "parameter-aware" reservoir computing, where training is conducted for a small number of bifurcation parameter values in the oscillatory regime to enable prediction upon a parameter drift into the regime of amplitude death. We demonstrate successful prediction of amplitude death for three prototypical dynamical systems in which the transition to death is preceded by either chaotic or regular oscillations. Because of the completely data-driven nature of the prediction framework, potential applications to real-world systems can be anticipated.

Tuning coupling rate to control oscillation quenching in fractional-order coupled oscillators

Introducing the fractional-order derivative into the coupled dynamical systems intrigues gradually the researchers from diverse fields. In this work, taking Stuart-Landau and Van der Pol oscillators as examples, we compare the difference between fractional-order and integer-order derivatives and further analyze their influences on oscillation quenching behaviors. Through tuning the coupling rate, as an asymmetric parameter to achieve the change from scalar coupling to non-scalar coupling, we observe that the onset of fractional-order not only enlarges the range of oscillation death, but attributes to the transition from fake amplitude death to oscillation death for coupled Stuart-Landau oscillators. We go on to show that for a coupled Van der Pol system only in the presence of a fractional-order derivative, oscillation quenching behaviors will occur. The results pave a way for revealing the control mechanism of oscillation quenching, which is critical for further understanding the function of fractional-order in a coupled nonlinear model.

Using critical curves to compute master stability islands for amplitude death in networks of delay-coupled oscillators

In this paper, we present a method to compute master stability islands (MSIs) for amplitude death in networks of delay-coupled oscillators using critical curves. We first demonstrate how critical curves can be used to compute boundaries and contours of MSIs in delay-coupling parameter space and then provide a general study on the effects of the oscillator dynamics and network topology on the number, size, and contour types of all MSIs. We find that the oscillator dynamics can be used to determine the number and size of MSIs and that there are six possible contour types that depend on the choice of oscillator dynamics and the network topology. We introduce contour sequences and use these sequences to study the contours of all MSIs. Finally, we provide example MSIs for several classical nonlinear systems including the van der Pol system, the Rucklidge system, and the Rössler system.

Traveling amplitude death in coupled pendula

We investigate the phenomenon of amplitude death [in two scenarios-traveling (TAD) and stationary] in coupled pendula with escapement mechanisms. The possible dynamics of the network is examined in coupling parameters' plane, and the corresponding examples of attractors are discussed. We analyze the properties of the observed patterns, studying the period of one full cycle of TAD under the influence of system's parameters, as well as the mechanism of its existence. It is shown, using the energy balance method, that the strict energy transfer between the pendula determines the direction in which the amplitude death travels from one unit to another. The occurrence of TAD is investigated as a result of a simple perturbation procedure, which shows that the transient dynamics on the road from complete synchronization to amplitude death is not straightforward. The pendula behavior during the transient processes is studied, and the influence of parameters and perturbation magnitude on the possible network's response is described. Finally, we analyze the energy transfer during the transient motion, indicating the potential triggers leading to the desired state. The obtained results suggest that the occurrence of traveling amplitude death is related to the chaotic dynamics and the phenomenon appears as a result of completely random process.

Oscillation death in coupled counter-rotating identical nonlinear oscillators

We study oscillatory and oscillation suppressed phases in coupled counter-rotating nonlinear oscillators. We demonstrate the existence of limit cycle, amplitude death, and oscillation death, and also clarify the Hopf, pitchfork, and infinite period bifurcations between them. Especially, the oscillation death is a new type of oscillation suppressions of which the inhomogeneous steady states are neutrally stable. We discuss the robust neutral stability of the oscillation death in non-conservative systems via the anti-parity-time-symmetric phase transitions at exceptional points in terms of non-Hermitian systems.

Role of time scales and topology on the dynamics of complex networks

The interplay between time scales and structural properties of complex networks of nonlinear oscillators can generate many interesting phenomena, like amplitude death, cluster synchronization, frequency synchronization, etc. We study the emergence of such phenomena and their transitions by considering a complex network of dynamical systems in which a fraction of systems evolves on a slower time scale on the network. We report the transition to amplitude death for the whole network and the scaling near the transitions as the connectivity pattern changes. We also discuss the suppression and recovery of oscillations and the crossover behavior as the number of slow systems increases. By considering a scale free network of systems with multiple time scales, we study the role of heterogeneity in link structure on dynamical properties and the consequent critical behaviors. In this case with hubs made slow, our main results are the escape time statistics for loss of complete synchrony as the slowness spreads on the network and the self-organization of the whole network to a new frequency synchronized state. Our results have potential applications in biological, physical, and engineering networks consisting of heterogeneous oscillators.

Mathematical Modeling for Description of Oscillation Suppression Induced by Deep Brain Stimulation

A mathematical modeling for description of oscillation suppression by deep brain stimulation (DBS) is explored in this paper. High-frequency DBS introduced to the basal ganglia network can suppress pathological neural oscillations that occur in the Parkinsonian state. However, selecting appropriate stimulation parameters remains a challenging issue due to the limited understanding of the underlying mechanisms of the Parkinsonian state and its control. In this paper, we use a describing function analysis to provide an intuitive way to select the optimal stimulation parameters based on a biologically plausible computational model of the Parkinsonian neural network. By the stability analysis using the describing function method, effective DBS parameter regions for inhibiting the pathological oscillations can be predicted. Additionally, it is also found that a novel sinusoidal-shaped DBS may become an alternative stimulation pattern and expends less energy, but with a different mechanism. This paper provides new insight into the possible mechanisms underlying DBS and a prediction of optimal DBS parameter settings, and even suggests how to select novel DBS wave patterns for the treatment of movement disorders, such as Parkinson's disease.

Enhancing coherence via tuning coupling range in nonlocally coupled Stuart-Landau oscillators

Nonlocal coupling, as an important connection topology among nonlinear oscillators, has attracted increasing attention recently with the research boom of chimera states. So far, most previous investigations have focused on nonlocally coupled systems interacted via similar variables. In this work, we report the evolutions of dynamical behaviors in the nonlocally coupled Stuart-Landau oscillators by applying conjugate variables feedback. Through rigorous analysis, we find that the oscillation death (OD) can convert into the amplitude death (AD) via the cluster state with the increasing of coupling range, making the AD regions to be expanded infinitely along two directions of both the natural frequency and the coupling strength. Moreover, the limit cycle oscillation (OS) region and the mixed region of OD and OS will turn to anti-synchronization state through amplitude-mediated chimera. Therefore, the procedure from local coupling to nonlocal one implies indeed the continuous enhancement of coherence among neighboring oscillators in coupled systems.

Quenching oscillating behaviors in fractional coupled Stuart-Landau oscillators

Oscillation quenching has been widely studied during the past several decades in fields ranging from natural sciences to engineering, but investigations have so far been restricted to oscillators with an integer-order derivative. Here, we report the first study of amplitude death (AD) in fractional coupled Stuart-Landau oscillators with partial and/or complete conjugate couplings to explore oscillation quenching patterns and dynamics. It has been found that the fractional-order derivative impacts the AD state crucially. The area of the AD state increases along with the decrease of the fractional-order derivative. Furthermore, by introducing and adjusting a limiting feedback factor in coupling links, the AD state can be well tamed in fractional coupled oscillators. Hence, it provides one an effective approach to analyze and control the oscillating behaviors in fractional coupled oscillators.

Amplitude death in a ring of nonidentical nonlinear oscillators with unidirectional coupling

We study the collective behaviors in a ring of coupled nonidentical nonlinear oscillators with unidirectional coupling, of which natural frequencies are distributed in a random way. We find the amplitude death phenomena in the case of unidirectional couplings and discuss the differences between the cases of bidirectional and unidirectional couplings. There are three main differences; there exists neither partial amplitude death nor local clustering behavior but an oblique line structure which represents directional signal flow on the spatio-temporal patterns in the unidirectional coupling case. The unidirectional coupling has the advantage of easily obtaining global amplitude death in a ring of coupled oscillators with randomly distributed natural frequency. Finally, we explain the results using the eigenvalue analysis of the Jacobian matrix at the origin and also discuss the transition of dynamical behavior coming from connection structure as the coupling strength increases.

Amplitude death of identical oscillators in networks with direct coupling

It is known that amplitude death can occur in networks of coupled identical oscillators if they interact via diffusive time-delayed coupling links. Here we consider networks of oscillators that interact via direct time-delayed coupling links. It is shown analytically that amplitude death is impossible for directly coupled Stuart-Landau oscillators, in contradistinction to the case of diffusive coupling. We demonstrate that amplitude death in the strict sense does become possible in directly coupled networks if the node dynamics is governed by second-order delay differential equations. Finally, we analyze in detail directly coupled nodes whose dynamics are described by first-order delay differential equations and find that, while amplitude death in the strict sense is impossible, other interesting oscillation quenching scenarios exist.

A common lag scenario in quenching of oscillation in coupled oscillators

A large parameter mismatch can induce amplitude death in two instantaneously coupled oscillators. Alternatively, a time delay in the coupling can induce amplitude death in two identical oscillators. We unify the mechanism of quenching of oscillation in coupled oscillators, either by a large parameter mismatch or a delay coupling, by a common lag scenario that is, surprisingly, different from the conventional lag synchronization. We present numerical as well as experimental evidence of this unknown kind of lag scenario when the lag increases with coupling and at a critically large value at a critical coupling strength, amplitude death emerges in two largely mismatched oscillators. This is analogous to amplitude death in identical systems with increasingly large coupling delay. In support, we use examples of the Chua oscillator and the Bonhoeffer-van der Pol system. Furthermore, we confirm this lag scenario during the onset of amplitude death in identical Stuart-Landau system under various instantaneous coupling forms, repulsive, conjugate, and a type of nonlinear coupling.

Imperfect traveling chimera states induced by local synaptic gradient coupling

In this paper, we report the occurrence of chimera patterns in a network of neuronal oscillators, which are coupled through local, synaptic gradient coupling. We discover a new chimera pattern, namely the imperfect traveling chimera state, where the incoherent traveling domain spreads into the coherent domain of the network. Remarkably, we also find that chimera states arise even for one-way local coupling, which is in contrast to the earlier belief that only nonlocal, global, or nearest-neighbor local coupling can give rise to chimera state; this find further relaxes the essential connectivity requirement of getting a chimera state. We choose a network of identical bursting Hindmarsh-Rose neuronal oscillators, and we show that depending upon the relative strength of the synaptic and gradient coupling, several chimera patterns emerge. We map all the spatiotemporal behaviors in parameter space and identify the transitions among several chimera patterns, an in-phase synchronized state, and a global amplitude death state.

Master stability islands for amplitude death in networks of delay-coupled oscillators

This paper presents a master stability function (MSF) approach for analyzing the stability of amplitude death (AD) in networks of delay-coupled oscillators. Unlike the familiar MSFs for instantaneously coupled networks, which typically have a single input encoding for the effects of the eigenvalues of the network Laplacian matrix, for delay-coupled networks we show that such MSFs generally require two additional inputs: the time delay and the coupling strength. To utilize the MSF for determining the stability of AD of general networks for a chosen nonlinear system (node dynamics) and coupling function, we introduce the concept of master stability islands (MSIs), which are two-dimensional stability islands of the delay-coupling parameter space together with a third dimension ("altitude") encoding for eigenvalues that result in stable AD. We numerically compute the MSFs and visualize the corresponding MSIs for several common chaotic systems including the Rössler, the Lorenz, and Chen's system and find that it is generally possible to achieve AD and that a nonzero time delay is necessary for the stabilization of the AD states.

Chimera states in purely local delay-coupled oscillators

We study the existence of chimera states in a network of locally coupled chaotic and limit-cycle oscillators. The necessary condition for chimera state in purely local coupled oscillators is discussed. At first, we numerically observe the existence of chimera or multichimera states in the locally coupled Hindmarsh-Rose neuron model. We find that delay time in the nonlinear local coupling reduces the domain of the coherent island in the parameter space of the synaptic coupling strength and time delay, and thus the coherent region can be completely eliminated once the time delay exceeds a certain threshold. We then consider another form of nonlinearity in the local coupling, and the existence of chimera states is observed in the time-delayed Mackey-Glass system and in a Van der Pol oscillator. We also discuss the effect of time delay in local coupling for the existence of chimera states in Mackey-Glass systems. The nonlinearity present in the coupling function plays a key role in the emergence of chimera or multichimera states. A phase diagram for the chimera state is identified over a wide parameter space.

Stable and transient multicluster oscillation death in nonlocally coupled networks

In a network of nonlocally coupled Stuart-Landau oscillators with symmetry-breaking coupling, we study numerically, and explain analytically, a family of inhomogeneous steady states (oscillation death). They exhibit multicluster patterns, depending on the cluster distribution prescribed by the initial conditions. Besides stable oscillation death, we also find a regime of long transients asymptotically approaching synchronized oscillations. To explain these phenomena analytically in dependence on the coupling range and the coupling strength, we first use a mean-field approximation, which works well for large coupling ranges but fails for coupling ranges, which are small compared to the cluster size. Going beyond standard mean-field theory, we predict the boundaries of the different stability regimes as well as the transient times analytically in excellent agreement with numerical results.

Feedback as a mechanism for the resurrection of oscillations from death states

The quenching of oscillations in interacting systems leads to several unwanted situations, which necessitate a suitable remedy to overcome the quenching. In this connection, this work addresses a mechanism that can resurrect oscillations in a typical situation. Through both numerical and analytical studies, we show that the candidate which is capable of resurrecting oscillations is nothing but the feedback, the one which is profoundly used in dynamical control and in biotherapies. Even in the case of a rather general system, we demonstrate analytically the applicability of the technique over one of the oscillation quenched states called amplitude death states. We also discuss some of the features of this mechanism such as adaptability of the technique with the feedback of only a few of the oscillators.

Exceptional points in coupled dissipative dynamical systems

We study the transient behavior in coupled dissipative dynamical systems based on the linear analysis around the steady state. We find that the transient time is minimized at a specific set of system parameters and show that at this parameter set, two eigenvalues and two eigenvectors of the Jacobian matrix coalesce at the same time; this degenerate point is called the exceptional point. For the case of coupled limit-cycle oscillators, we investigate the transient behavior into the amplitude death state, and clarify that the exceptional point is associated with a critical point of frequency locking, as well as the transition of the envelope oscillation.

Mobility and density induced amplitude death in metapopulation networks of coupled oscillators

We investigate the effects of mobility and density on the amplitude death of coupled Landau-Stuart oscillators and Brusselators in metapopulation networks, wherein each node represents a subpopulation occupied any number of mobile individuals. By numerical simulations in scale-free topology, we find that the systems undergo phase transitions from incoherent state to amplitude death, and then to frequency synchronization with increasing the mobility rate or density of oscillators. Especially, there exists an extent of intermediate mobility rate and density that can lead to global oscillator death. Furthermore, we show that such nontrivial phenomena are robust to diverse network topologies. Our findings may invoke further efforts and attentions to explore the underlying mechanism of collective behaviors in coupled metapopulation systems.

Synchronization and amplitude death in hypernetworks

We study dynamical systems on a hypernetwork, namely by coupling them through several variables. For the case when the coupling(s) are all linear, a comprehensive analysis of the master stability function (MSF) for synchronized dynamics is presented and, through application to a number of paradigmatic examples, the typical forms of the MSF are discussed. The MSF formalism for hypernetworks also provides a framework to study synchronization in systems that are diffusively coupled through dissimilar variables-the so-called conjugate coupling that can lead to amplitude or oscillation death.

Amplitude death of coupled hair bundles with stochastic channel noise

Hair cells conduct auditory transduction in vertebrates. In lower vertebrates such as frogs and turtles, due to the active mechanism in hair cells, hair bundles (stereocilia) can be spontaneously oscillating or quiescent. Recently an amplitude death phenomenon has been proposed [K.-H. Ahn, J. R. Soc. Interface, 10, 20130525 (2013)] as a mechanism for auditory transduction in frog hair-cell bundles, where sudden cessation of the oscillations arises due to the coupling between nonidentical hair bundles. The gating of the ion channel is intrinsically stochastic due to the stochastic nature of the configuration change of the channel. The strength of the noise due to the channel gating can be comparable to the thermal Brownian noise of hair bundles. Thus, we perform stochastic simulations of the elastically coupled hair bundles. In spite of stray noisy fluctuations due to its stochastic dynamics, our simulation shows the transition from collective oscillation to amplitude death as interbundle coupling strength increases. In its stochastic dynamics, the formation of the amplitude death state of coupled hair bundles can be seen as a sudden suppression of the displacement fluctuation of the hair bundles as the coupling strength increases. The enhancement of the signal-to-noise ratio through the amplitude death phenomenon is clearly seen in the stochastic dynamics. Our numerical results demonstrate that the multiple number of transduction channels per hair bundle is an important factor to the amplitude death phenomenon, because the phenomenon may disappear for a small number of transduction channels due to strong gating noise.

Analytical criterion for amplitude death in nonautonomous systems with piecewise nonlinear coupling

We investigate the amplitude death phenomenon in a nonautonomous chained network with complicated piecewise nonlinear coupling functions. An analytical criterion for the boundary of the amplitude death region is derived by using the average method. The mechanism of the amplitude death in the nonautonomous networks is very different from that of autonomous systems and rapid dynamic transitions could halt the amplitude death. Numerical verifications are carried out to check jump transitions among different solution branches and further confirm the correctness of the theoretical results.

Taming explosive growth through dynamic random links

We study the dynamics of a collection of nonlinearly coupled limit cycle oscillators relevant to a wide class of systems, ranging from neuronal populations to electrical circuits, over network topologies varying from a regular ring to a random network. We find that for sufficiently strong coupling strengths the trajectories of the system escape to infinity in the regular ring network. However when a fraction of the regular connections are dynamically randomized, the unbounded growth is suppressed and the system remains bounded. Further, we find a scaling relation between the critical fraction of random links necessary for successful prevention of explosive behavior and the network rewiring time-scale. These results suggest a mechanism by which blow-ups may be controlled in extended oscillator systems.

Amplitude death in nonlinear oscillators with mixed time-delayed coupling

Amplitude death (AD) is an emergent phenomenon whereby two or more autonomously oscillating systems completely lose their oscillations due to coupling. In this work, we study AD in nonlinear oscillators with mixed time-delayed coupling, which is a combination of instantaneous and time-delayed couplings. We find that the mixed time-delayed coupling favors the onset of AD for a larger set of parameters than in the limiting cases of purely instantaneous or completely time-delayed coupling. Coupled identical oscillators experience AD under instantaneous coupling mixed with a small proportion of time-delayed coupling. Our work gives a deeper understanding of delay-induced AD in coupled nonlinear oscillators.

Enhanced signal-to-noise ratios in frog hearing can be achieved through amplitude death

In the ear, hair cells transform mechanical stimuli into neuronal signals with great sensitivity, relying on certain active processes. Individual hair cell bundles of non-mammals such as frogs and turtles are known to show spontaneous oscillation. However, hair bundles in vivo must be quiet in the absence of stimuli, otherwise the signal is drowned in intrinsic noise. Thus, a certain mechanism is required in order to suppress intrinsic noise. Here, through a model study of elastically coupled hair bundles of bullfrog sacculi, we show that a low stimulus threshold and a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) can be achieved through the amplitude death phenomenon (the cessation of spontaneous oscillations by coupling). This phenomenon occurs only when the coupled hair bundles have inhomogeneous distribution, which is likely to be the case in biological systems. We show that the SNR has non-monotonic dependence on the mass of the overlying membrane, and find out that the SNR has maximum value in the region of amplitude death. The low threshold of stimulus through amplitude death may account for the experimentally observed high sensitivity of frog sacculi in detecting vibration. The hair bundles' amplitude death mechanism provides a smart engineering design for low-noise amplification.

Transition from amplitude to oscillation death via Turing bifurcation

Coupled oscillators are shown to experience two structurally different oscillation quenching types: amplitude death (AD) and oscillation death (OD). We demonstrate that both AD and OD can occur in one system and find that the transition between them underlies a classical, Turing-type bifurcation, providing a clear classification of these significantly different dynamical regimes. The implications of obtaining a homogeneous (AD) or inhomogeneous (OD) steady state, as well as their significance for physical and biological applications and control studies, are also pointed out.

Phase-flip transition in nonlinear oscillators coupled by dynamic environment

We study the dynamics of nonlinear oscillators indirectly coupled through a dynamical environment or a common medium. We observed that this form of indirect coupling leads to synchronization and phase-flip transition in periodic as well as chaotic regime of oscillators. The phase-flip transition from in- to anti-phase synchronization or vise-versa is analyzed in the parameter plane with examples of Landau-Stuart and Rössler oscillators. The dynamical transitions are characterized using various indices such as average phase difference, frequency, and Lyapunov exponents. Experimental evidence of the phase-flip transition is shown using an electronic version of the van der Pol oscillators.

Effects of spatial frequency distributions on amplitude death in an array of coupled Landau-Stuart oscillators

The influences of spatial frequency distributions on complete amplitude death are explored by studying an array of diffusively coupled oscillators. We found that with all possible sets of spatial frequency distributions, the two critical coupling strengths ε(c1) (lower-bounded value) and ε(c2) (upper-bounded value) needed to get complete amplitude death exhibit a universal power law and a log-normal distribution respectively, which has long tails in both cases. This is significant for dynamics control, since large variations of ε(c1) and ε(c2) are possible for some spatial arrangements. Moreover, we explore optimal spatial distributions with the smallest (largest) ε(c1) or ε(c2).

Oscillation death in asymmetrically delay-coupled oscillators

Symmetrically coupled oscillators represent a limiting case for studying the dynamics of natural systems. Therefore, we here investigate the effect of coupling asymmetry on delay-induced oscillation death (OD) in coupled nonlinear oscillators. It is found that the asymmetrical coupling substantially enlarges the domain of the OD island in the parameter space. Specifically, when the intensity of asymmetry is enhanced by turning down the value of the coupling asymmetry parameter α, the OD island gradually expands along two directions of both the coupling delay and the coupling strength. The expansion behavior of the OD region is well characterized by a power law scaling, R=α(γ) with γ≈-1.19. The minimum value of the intrinsic frequency, for which OD is possible, monotonically decreases with decreasing α and saturates around a constant value in the limit of α→0. The generality of the conducive effect of coupling asymmetry is confirmed in a numerical study of two delay-coupled chaotic Rössler oscillators. Our findings shed an improved light on the understanding of dynamics in asymmetrically delay-coupled systems.

Frequency discontinuity and amplitude death with time-delay asymmetry

We consider oscillators coupled with asymmetric time delays, namely, when the speed of information transfer is direction dependent. As the coupling parameter is varied, there is a regime of amplitude death within which there is a phase-flip transition. At this transition the frequency changes discontinuously, but unlike the equal delay case when the relative phase difference changes by π, here the phase difference changes by an arbitrary value that depends on the difference in delays. We consider asymmetric delays in coupled Landau-Stuart oscillators and Rössler oscillators. Analytical estimates of phase synchronization frequencies and phase differences are obtained by separating the evolution equations into phase and amplitude components. Eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the Jacobian matrix in the neighborhood of the transition also show an "avoided crossing," as has been observed in previous studies with symmetric delays.

Amplitude death in complex networks induced by environment

We present a mechanism for amplitude death in coupled nonlinear dynamical systems on a complex network having interactions with a common environment like external system. We develop a general stability analysis that is valid for any network topology and obtain the threshold values of coupling constants for the onset of amplitude death. An important outcome of our study is a universal relation between the critical coupling strength and the largest nonzero eigenvalue of the coupling matrix. Our results are fully supported by the detailed numerical analysis for different network topologies.

Relaying phase synchrony in chaotic oscillator chains

We study the manner in which the effect of an external drive is transmitted through mutually coupled response systems by examining the phase synchrony between the drive and the response. Two different coupling schemes are used. Homogeneous couplings are via the same variables while heterogeneous couplings are through different variables. With the latter scenario, synchronization regimes are truncated with an increasing number of mutually coupled oscillators in contrast to homogeneous coupling schemes. Our results are illustrated for systems of coupled chaotic Rössler oscillators.

Targeting fixed-point solutions in nonlinear oscillators through linear augmentation

We propose a general strategy to stabilize the fixed points of nonlinear oscillators with augmented dynamics. By using this scheme, either the unstable fixed points of the oscillatory system or a new fixed point of the augmented system can be stabilized. The Lyapunov exponents are used to study the dynamical properties. This scheme is illustrated with a chaotic Lorenz oscillator coupled through an external linear dynamical system. The experimental demonstration of the proposed scheme to stabilize the fixed points is also presented.

Time-delay-induced phase-transition to synchrony in coupled bursting neurons

Signal transmission time delays in a network of nonlinear oscillators are known to be responsible for a variety of interesting dynamic behaviors including phase-flip transitions leading to synchrony or out of synchrony. Here, we uncover that phase-flip transitions are general phenomena and can occur in a network of coupled bursting neurons with a variety of coupling types. The transitions are marked by nonlinear changes in both temporal and phase-space characteristics of the coupled system. We demonstrate these phase-transitions with Hindmarsh-Rose and Leech-Heart interneuron models and discuss the implications of these results in understanding collective dynamics of bursting neurons in the brain.

Mechanism of phase splitting in two coupled groups of suprachiasmatic-nucleus neurons

The phase-splitting behavior of coupled suprachiasmatic-nucleus neurons has been observed in many mammals, and its mechanism is still not completely understood. Based on our previous work [C. Gu, J. Wang, and Z. Liu, Phys. Rev. E 80, 030904(R) (2009)] on the free-running periods of neurons in the suprachiasmatic nucleus, we present here a modified Goodwin oscillator model to explain the mechanism of phase splitting. In contrast to the previous phase model, the modified Goodwin oscillator model contains the information on both the phase and amplitude and, thus, can show more features than the purely phase model, including all three behaviors of synchronization, phase splitting, and amplitude death and the distributed periodicity in the regions of synchronization and phase splitting, etc. An analytic phase model is extracted from the modified Goodwin oscillator model to explain the dependence of periodicity on the parameters. Moreover, both the modified Goodwin oscillator model and the analytic phase model show that the ensemble frequency can be enhanced or reduced by the time delay.

Targeted control of amplitude dynamics in coupled nonlinear oscillators

We propose a general strategy for designing coupling functions in order to achieve a desired amplitude dynamics in coupled nonlinear oscillators. The target dynamics achieved by the proposed control schemes is a fixed-point motion at a desired amplitude level or a periodic motion at a desired frequency. The control schemes are illustrated with Rössler and Hindmarsh-Rose oscillators.