Mean-field dispersion-induced spatial synchrony, oscillation and amplitude death, and temporal stability in an ecological model

Chimeric states induced by higher-order interactions in coupled prey-predator systems

Higher-order interactions have been instrumental in characterizing the intricate complex dynamics in a diverse range of large-scale complex systems. Our study investigates the effect of attractive and repulsive higher-order interactions in globally and non-locally coupled prey-predator Rosenzweig-MacArthur systems. Such interactions lead to the emergence of complex spatiotemporal chimeric states, which are otherwise unobserved in the model system with only pairwise interactions. Our model system exhibits a second-order transition from a chimera-like state (mixture of oscillating and steady state nodes) to a chimera-death state through a supercritical Hopf bifurcation. The origin of these states is discussed in detail along with the effect of the higher-order non-local topology which leads to the rise of a distinct and dynamical state termed as "amplitude-mediated chimera-like states." Our study observes that the introduction of higher-order attractive and repulsive interactions exhibit incoherence and promote persistence in consumer-resource population dynamics as opposed to susceptibility shown by synchronized dynamics with only pairwise interactions, and these results may be of interest to conservationists and theoretical ecologists studying the effect of competing interactions in ecological networks.

Enhanced signal response in globally coupled networks of bistable oscillators: Effects of mean field density and signal shape

This paper studies a set of globally coupled bistable oscillators, all subjected to the same weak periodic signal and identical coupling. The effect of mean field density (MFD) on global dynamics is analyzed. The oscillators switch from intra- to interwell motion as MFD increases, clearly demonstrating MFD-enhanced signal amplification. A maximum amplification also occurs at a moderate level of MFD, indicating that the response exhibits a nonmonotonic sensitivity to MFD. The MFD-enhanced response depends mainly on the signal intensity but not on the signal frequency or the network topology. The analytical investigation provides a simplified model to study the mechanism underlying this resonancelike behavior. It is shown that by modifying the bistability nature of the potential energy, the mean field density can promote well-to-well oscillations and larger amplitude motions. Finally, the robustness of this phenomenon to various signal waveforms is examined. It can therefore be used alternatively to efficiently amplify weak signals in practical situations with large network sizes.

Kerr nonlinearity hinders symmetry-breaking states of coupled quantum oscillators

We study the effect of Kerr anharmonicity on the symmetry-breaking phenomena of coupled quantum oscillators. Two types of symmetry-breaking processes are studied, namely, the inhomogeneous steady state (or quantum oscillation death state) and quantum chimera state. Remarkably, it is found that Kerr nonlinearity hinders the process of symmetry breaking in both the cases. We establish our results using direct simulation of the quantum master equation and analysis of the stochastic semiclassical model. Interestingly, in the case of quantum oscillation death, an increase in the strength of Kerr nonlinearity tends to favor the symmetry and at the same time decreases the degree of quantum mechanical entanglement. This paper presents a useful mean to control and engineer symmetry-breaking states for quantum technology.

Metacommunity persistence to environmental change: Stabilizing and destabilizing effects of individual species dispersal

Ecological communities face a high risk of extinction to climate change which can destabilize ecological systems. In the face of accelerating environmental change, understanding the factors and the mechanisms that stabilize the ecological communities is a central focus in ecology. Although dispersal has been widely used as an important stabilizing process, it remains unclear how individual species dispersal affects the stability and persistence of an ecological community. In this study, using a spatially coupled predator-prey community, we address the effects of individual species dispersal and nutrient enrichment on metacommunity stability in constant and varying environments. We show two contrasting effects of dispersal on metacommunity persistence in temporally constant and varying environments. Specifically, predator dispersal in constant environments shows stronger stability through inhomogeneous (asynchronized) states, whereas prey dispersal shows an increasing extinction risk through a homogeneous (synchronized) state. On the contrary, the metacommunity dynamics in temporally varying environments reveal that predator dispersal causes a local extinction through tracking unstable states and also a delayed shift between dynamical states. Moreover, our results emphasize that metacommunity persistence depends on individual species dispersal and environmental variations. Thus, our findings of the individual species dispersal can help to develop conservation measures that are tailored to varying environmental conditions.

Quantum Turing bifurcation: Transition from quantum amplitude death to quantum oscillation death

An important transition from a homogeneous steady state to an inhomogeneous steady state via the Turing bifurcation in coupled oscillators was reported recently [Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 024103 (2013)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.111.024103]. However, the same in the quantum domain is yet to be observed. In this paper, we discover the quantum analog of the Turing bifurcation in coupled quantum oscillators. We show that a homogeneous steady state is transformed into an inhomogeneous steady state through this bifurcation in coupled quantum van der Pol oscillators. We demonstrate our results by a direct simulation of the quantum master equation in the Lindblad form. We further support our observations through an analytical treatment of the noisy classical model. Our study explores the paradigmatic Turing bifurcation at the quantum-classical interface and opens up the door toward its broader understanding.

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.

Effects of propagation delay in coupled oscillators under direct-indirect coupling: Theory and experiment

Propagation delay arises in a coupling channel due to the finite propagation speed of signals and the dispersive nature of the channel. In this paper, we study the effects of propagation delay that appears in the indirect coupling path of direct (diffusive)-indirect (environmental) coupled oscillators. In sharp contrast to the direct coupled oscillators where propagation delay induces amplitude death, we show that in the case of direct-indirect coupling, even a small propagation delay is conducive to an oscillatory behavior. It is well known that simultaneous application of direct and indirect coupling is the general mechanism for amplitude death. However, here we show that the presence of propagation delay hinders the death state and helps the revival of oscillation. We demonstrate our results by considering chaotic time-delayed oscillators and FitzHugh-Nagumo oscillators. We use linear stability analysis to derive the explicit conditions for the onset of oscillation from the death state. We also verify the robustness of our results in an electronic hardware level experiment. Our study reveals that the effect of time delay on the dynamics of coupled oscillators is coupling function dependent and, therefore, highly non-trivial.

Revival of oscillation and symmetry breaking in coupled quantum oscillators

Restoration of oscillations from an oscillation suppressed state in coupled oscillators is an important topic of research and has been studied widely in recent years. However, the same in the quantum regime has not been explored yet. Recent works established that under certain coupling conditions, coupled quantum oscillators are susceptible to suppression of oscillations, such as amplitude death and oscillation death. In this paper, for the first time, we demonstrate that quantum oscillation suppression states can be revoked and rhythmogenesis can be established in coupled quantum oscillators by controlling a feedback parameter in the coupling path. However, in sharp contrast to the classical system, we show that in the deep quantum regime, the feedback parameter fails to revive oscillations, and rather results in a transition from a quantum amplitude death state to the recently discovered quantum oscillation death state. We use the formalism of an open quantum system and a phase space representation of quantum mechanics to establish our results. Therefore, our study establishes that the revival scheme proposed for classical systems does not always result in restoration of oscillations in quantum systems, but in the deep quantum regime, it may give counterintuitive behaviors that are of a pure quantum mechanical origin.

Quantum manifestations of homogeneous and inhomogeneous oscillation suppression states

We study the quantum manifestations of homogeneous and inhomogeneous oscillation suppression states in coupled identical quantum oscillators. We consider quantum van der Pol oscillators coupled via weighted mean-field diffusive coupling and, using the formalism of open quantum systems, we show that, depending on the coupling and the density of mean-field, two types of quantum amplitude death occurs, namely, squeezed and nonsqueezed quantum amplitude death. Surprisingly, we find that the inhomogeneous oscillation suppression state (or the oscillation death state) does not occur in the quantum oscillators in the classical limit. However, in the deep quantum regime we discover an oscillation death-like state which is manifested in the phase space through the symmetry-breaking bifurcation of the Wigner function. Our results also hint toward the possibility of the transition from quantum amplitude death to oscillation death state through the "quantum" Turing-type bifurcation. We believe that the observation of quantum oscillation death state will deepen our knowledge of symmetry-breaking dynamics in the quantum domain.

Symmetry breaking dynamics induced by mean-field density and low-pass filter

The phenomenon of spontaneous symmetry breaking facilitates the onset of a plethora of nontrivial dynamical states/patterns in a wide variety of dynamical systems. Spontaneous symmetry breaking results in amplitude and phase variations in a coupled identical oscillator due to the breaking of the prevailing permutational/translational symmetry of the coupled system. Nevertheless, the role and the competing interaction of the low-pass filter and the mean-field density parameter on the symmetry breaking dynamical states are unclear and yet to be explored explicitly. The effect of low pass filtering along with the mean-field parameter is explored in conjugately coupled Stuart-Landau oscillators. The dynamical transitions are examined via bifurcation analysis. We show the emergence of a spontaneous symmetry breaking (asymmetric) oscillatory state, which coexists with a nontrivial amplitude death state. Through the basin of attraction, the multi-stable nature of the spontaneous symmetry breaking state is examined, which reveals that the asymmetric distribution of the initial state favors the spontaneous symmetry breaking dynamics, while the symmetric distribution of initial states gives rise to the nontrivial amplitude death state. In addition, the trade-off between the cut-off frequency of the low-pass filter along with the mean-field density induces and enhances the symmetry breaking dynamical states. Global dynamical transitions are discussed as a function of various system parameters. Analytical stability curves corresponding to the nontrivial amplitude death and oscillation death states are deduced.

Effect of processing delay on bifurcation delay in a network of slow-fast oscillators

Bifurcation delay or slow passage effect occurs in dynamical systems with slow-fast time-varying parameters. In this work, we report the impact of processing delay on bifurcation delay in a network of locally coupled slow-fast systems with self-feedback delay. We report that the network exhibits coexisting coherent (synchronized) and incoherent (desynchronized) states among the oscillators as a function of various parameters like self-feedback delay, processing delay, and amplitude of the external current. In particular, we show the decrease of the synchronized region (control of synchronization) for (i) a fixed value of processing delay with varying self-feedback delay and (ii) fixed self-feedback delay with increasing processing delay. In contrast, we observe the increase of the synchronized region (control of desynchronization) for fixed processing delay and self-feedback delay while varying the amplitude of the external current. Finally, we have also analyzed the effect of processing delay on bifurcation delay with the presence of noise and we report that the inhomogeneity in the additional noise does not affect the asymmetry in a bifurcation delay.

Aging transition in the absence of inactive oscillators

The role of counter-rotating oscillators in an ensemble of coexisting co- and counter-rotating oscillators is examined by increasing the proportion of the latter. The phenomenon of aging transition was identified at a critical value of the ratio of the counter-rotating oscillators, which was otherwise realized only by increasing the number of inactive oscillators to a large extent. The effect of the mean-field feedback strength in the symmetry preserving coupling is also explored. The parameter space of aging transition was increased abruptly even for a feeble decrease in the feedback strength, and, subsequently, aging transition was observed at a critical value of the feedback strength surprisingly without any counter-rotating oscillators. Further, the study was extended to symmetry breaking coupling using conjugate variables, and it was observed that the symmetry breaking coupling can facilitate the onset of aging transition even in the absence of counter-rotating oscillators and for the unit value of the feedback strength. In general, the parameter space of aging transition was found to increase by increasing the frequency of oscillators and by increasing the proportion of the counter-rotating oscillators in both symmetry preserving and symmetry breaking couplings. Further, the transition from oscillatory to aging occurs via a Hopf bifurcation, while the transition from aging to oscillation death state emerges via the pitchfork bifurcation. Analytical expressions for the critical ratio of the counter-rotating oscillators are deduced to find the stable boundaries of the aging transition.

Revival and death of oscillation under mean-field coupling: Interplay of intrinsic and extrinsic filtering

Mean-field diffusive coupling was known to induce the phenomenon of quenching of oscillations even in identical systems, where the standard diffusive coupling (without mean-field) fails to do so [Phys. Rev. E 89, 052912 (2014)PLEEE81539-375510.1103/PhysRevE.89.052912]. In particular, the mean-field diffusive coupling facilitates the transition from amplitude to oscillation death states and the onset of a nontrivial amplitude death state via a subcritical pitchfork bifurcation. In this paper, we show that an adaptive coupling using a low-pass filter in both the intrinsic and extrinsic variables in the coupling is capable of inducing the counterintuitive phenomenon of reviving of oscillations from the death states induced by the mean-field coupling. In particular, even a weak filtering of the extrinsic (intrinsic) variable in the mean-field coupling facilitates the onset of revival (quenching) of oscillations, whereas a strong filtering of the extrinsic (intrinsic) variable results in quenching (revival) of oscillations. Our results reveal that the degree of filtering plays a predominant role in determining the effect of filtering in the extrinsic or intrinsic variables, thereby engineering the dynamics as desired. We also extend the analysis to networks of mean-field coupled limit-cycle and chaotic oscillators along with the low-pass filters to illustrate the generic nature of our results. Finally, we demonstrate the observed dynamical transition experimentally to elucidate the robustness of our results despite the presence of inherent parameter fluctuations and noise.

Synchronization and entrainment of metapopulations: A trade-off among time-induced heterogeneity, dispersal, and seasonal force

Demographic and environmental heterogeneities are prevalent across many natural systems. Earlier studies on metapopulation models have mostly considered heterogeneities either in the demographic parameters or in the interaction strength and topology between the spatially separated patches. In contrast, here we study the dynamics of a metapopulation model where each of the uncoupled patches has different periods of oscillations (period mismatch). We show different synchronization dynamics governed by both period mismatch and dispersal in neighboring patches. Indeed, we find both appearance and disappearance of phase synchronization, quasiperiodic oscillations, and period doubling of limit cycle. We also quantify the effect of seasonal variation (entrainment) and dispersal on species synchrony using phase-response curve and a synchrony measure, which thereof identify the influence of stochasticity on species persistence through trade-off mechanisms. Our results show that trade-offs among period mismatch, dispersal, and external force can drive entrained oscillations as well as asynchronous population dynamics that structure ecological communities.

Transition from homogeneous to inhomogeneous limit cycles: Effect of local filtering in coupled oscillators

We report an interesting symmetry-breaking transition in coupled identical oscillators, namely, the continuous transition from homogeneous to inhomogeneous limit cycle oscillations. The observed transition is the oscillatory analog of the Turing-type symmetry-breaking transition from amplitude death (i.e., stable homogeneous steady state) to oscillation death (i.e., stable inhomogeneous steady state). This novel transition occurs in the parametric zone of occurrence of rhythmogenesis and oscillation death as a consequence of the presence of local filtering in the coupling path. We consider paradigmatic oscillators, such as Stuart-Landau and van der Pol oscillators, under mean-field coupling with low-pass or all-pass filtered self-feedback and through a rigorous bifurcation analysis we explore the genesis of this transition. Further, we experimentally demonstrate the observed transition, which establishes its robustness in the presence of parameter fluctuations and noise.

Explosive death induced by mean-field diffusion in identical oscillators

We report the occurrence of an explosive death transition for the first time in an ensemble of identical limit cycle and chaotic oscillators coupled via mean–field diffusion. In both systems, the variation of the normalized amplitude with the coupling strength exhibits an abrupt and irreversible transition to death state from an oscillatory state and this first order phase transition to death state is independent of the size of the system. This transition is quite general and has been found in all the coupled systems where in–phase oscillations co–exist with a coupling dependent homogeneous steady state. The backward transition point for this phase transition has been calculated using linear stability analysis which is in complete agreement with the numerics.

Basin stability measure of different steady states in coupled oscillators

In this report, we investigate the stabilization of saddle fixed points in coupled oscillators where individual oscillators exhibit the saddle fixed points. The coupled oscillators may have two structurally different types of suppressed states, namely amplitude death and oscillation death. The stabilization of saddle equilibrium point refers to the amplitude death state where oscillations are ceased and all the oscillators converge to the single stable steady state via inverse pitchfork bifurcation. Due to multistability features of oscillation death states, linear stability theory fails to analyze the stability of such states analytically, so we quantify all the states by basin stability measurement which is an universal nonlocal nonlinear concept and it interplays with the volume of basins of attractions. We also observe multi-clustered oscillation death states in a random network and measure them using basin stability framework. To explore such phenomena we choose a network of coupled Duffing-Holmes and Lorenz oscillators which are interacting through mean-field coupling. We investigate how basin stability for different steady states depends on mean-field density and coupling strength. We also analytically derive stability conditions for different steady states and confirm by rigorous bifurcation analysis.

Generation and cessation of oscillations: Interplay of excitability and dispersal in a class of ecosystems

We investigate the complex spatiotemporal dynamics of an ecological network with species dispersal mediated via a mean-field coupling. The local dynamics of the network are governed by the Truscott-Brindley model, which is an important ecological model showing excitability. Our results focus on the interplay of excitability and dispersal by always considering that the individual nodes are in their (excitable) steady states. In contrast to the previous studies, we not only observe the dispersal induced generation of oscillation but also report two distinct mechanisms of cessation of oscillations, namely, amplitude and oscillation death. We show that the dispersal between the nodes influences the intrinsic dynamics of the system resulting in multiple oscillatory dynamics such as period-1 and period-2 limit cycles. We also show the existence of multi-cluster states, which has much relevance and importance in ecology.

Environmental coupling in ecosystems: From oscillation quenching to rhythmogenesis

How landscape fragmentation affects ecosystems diversity and stability is an important and complex question in ecology with no simple answer, as spatially separated habitats where species live are highly dynamic rather than just static. Taking into account the species dispersal among nearby connected habitats (or patches) through a common dynamic environment, we model the consumer-resource interactions with a ring type coupled network. By characterizing the dynamics of consumer-resource interactions in a coupled ecological system with three fundamental mechanisms such as the interaction within the patch, the interaction between the patches, and the interaction through a common dynamic environment, we report the occurrence of various collective behaviors. We show that the interplay between the dynamic environment and the dispersal among connected patches exhibits the mechanism of generation of oscillations, i.e., rhythmogenesis, as well as suppression of oscillations, i.e., amplitude death and oscillation death. Also, the transition from homogeneous steady state to inhomogeneous steady state occurs through a codimension-2 bifurcation. Emphasizing a network of a spatially extended system, the coupled model exposes the collective behavior of a synchrony-stability relationship with various synchronization occurrences such as in-phase and out-of-phase.

The role of asymmetrical and repulsive coupling in the dynamics of two coupled van der Pol oscillators

A system of two asymmetrically coupled van der Pol oscillators has been studied. We show that the introduction of a small asymmetry in coupling leads to the appearance of a "wideband synchronization channel" in the bifurcational structure of the parameter space. An increase of asymmetry and transition to repulsive interaction leads to the formation of multistability. As the result, the tip of the Arnold's tongue widens due to the formation of folds defined by saddle-node bifurcation curves for the limit cycles on the torus.

Mixed-mode oscillation suppression states in coupled oscillators

We report a collective dynamical state, namely the mixed-mode oscillation suppression state where the steady states of the state variables of a system of coupled oscillators show heterogeneous behaviors. We identify two variants of it: The first one is a mixed-mode death (MMD) state, which is an interesting oscillation death state, where a set of variables show dissimilar values, while the rest arrive at a common value. In the second mixed death state, bistable and monostable nontrivial homogeneous steady states appear simultaneously to a different set of variables (we refer to it as the MNAD state). We find these states in the paradigmatic chaotic Lorenz system and Lorenz-like system under generic coupling schemes. We identify that while the reflection symmetry breaking is responsible for the MNAD state, the breaking of both the reflection and translational symmetries result in the MMD state. Using a rigorous bifurcation analysis we establish the occurrence of the MMD and MNAD states, and map their transition routes in parameter space. Moreover, we report experimental observation of the MMD and MNAD states that supports our theoretical results. We believe that this study will broaden our understanding of oscillation suppression states; subsequently, it may have applications in many real physical systems, such as laser and geomagnetic systems, whose mathematical models mimic the Lorenz system.

Revival of oscillation from mean-field-induced death: Theory and experiment

The revival of oscillation and maintaining rhythmicity in a network of coupled oscillators offer an open challenge to researchers as the cessation of oscillation often leads to a fatal system degradation and an irrecoverable malfunctioning in many physical, biological, and physiological systems. Recently a general technique of restoration of rhythmicity in diffusively coupled networks of nonlinear oscillators has been proposed in Zou et al. [Nat. Commun. 6, 7709 (2015)], where it is shown that a proper feedback parameter that controls the rate of diffusion can effectively revive oscillation from an oscillation suppressed state. In this paper we show that the mean-field diffusive coupling, which can suppress oscillation even in a network of identical oscillators, can be modified in order to revoke the cessation of oscillation induced by it. Using a rigorous bifurcation analysis we show that, unlike other diffusive coupling schemes, here one has two control parameters, namely the density of the mean-field and the feedback parameter that can be controlled to revive oscillation from a death state. We demonstrate that an appropriate choice of density of the mean field is capable of inducing rhythmicity even in the presence of complete diffusion, which is a unique feature of this mean-field coupling that is not available in other coupling schemes. Finally, we report the experimental observation of revival of oscillation from the mean-field-induced oscillation suppression state that supports our theoretical results.

Spatial coexistence of synchronized oscillation and death: A chimeralike state

We report an interesting spatiotemporal state, namely the chimeralike incongruous coexistence of synchronized oscillation and stable steady state (CSOD) in a network of nonlocally coupled oscillators. Unlike the chimera and chimera death state, in the CSOD state identical oscillators are self-organized into two coexisting spatially separated domains: In one domain neighboring oscillators show synchronized oscillation and in another domain the neighboring oscillators randomly populate either a synchronized oscillating state or a stable steady state (we call it a death state). We consider a realistic ecological network and show that the interplay of nonlocality and coupling strength results in two routes to the CSOD state: One is from a coexisting mixed state of amplitude chimera and death, and another one is from a globally synchronized state. We provide a qualitative explanation of the origin of this state. We further explore the importance of this study in ecology that gives insight into the relationship between spatial synchrony and global extinction of species. We believe this study will improve our understanding of chimera and chimeralike states.

Dispersal-induced synchrony, temporal stability, and clustering in a mean-field coupled Rosenzweig-MacArthur model

In spatial ecology, dispersal among a set of spatially separated habitats, named as metapopulation, preserves the diversity and persistence by interconnecting the local populations. Understanding the effects of several variants of dispersion in metapopulation dynamics and to identify the factors which promote population synchrony and population stability are important in ecology. In this paper, we consider the mean-field dispersion among the habitats in a network and study the collective dynamics of the spatially extended system. Using the Rosenzweig-MacArthur model for individual patches, we show that the population synchrony and temporal stability, which are believed to be of conflicting outcomes of dispersion, can be simultaneously achieved by oscillation quenching mechanisms. Particularly, we explore the more natural coupling configuration where the rates of dispersal of different habitats are disparate. We show that asymmetry in dispersal rate plays a crucial role in determining inhomogeneity in an otherwise homogeneous metapopulation. We further identify an unusual emergent state in the network, namely, a multi-branch clustered inhomogeneous steady state, which arises due to the intrinsic parameter mismatch among the patches. We believe that the present study will shed light on the cooperative behavior of spatially structured ecosystems.