On the concept of dynamical reduction: the case of coupled oscillators.

An overview is given on two representative methods of dynamical reduction known as centre-manifold reduction and phase reduction. These theories are presented in a somewhat more unified fashion than the theories in the past. The target systems of reduction are coupled limit-cycle oscillators. Particular emphasis is placed on the remarkable structural similarity existing between these theories. While the two basic principles, i.e. (i) reduction of dynamical degrees of freedom and (ii) transformation of reduced evolution equation to a canonical form, are shared commonly by reduction methods in general, it is shown how these principles are incorporated into the above two reduction theories in a coherent manner. Regarding the phase reduction, a new formulation of perturbative expansion is presented for discrete populations of oscillators. The style of description is intended to be so informal that one may digest, without being bothered with technicalities, what has been done after all under the word reduction. This article is part of the theme issue 'Coupling functions: dynamical interaction mechanisms in the physical, biological and social sciences'.

Locally and globally coupled oscillators in muscle.

At an intermediate activation level, striated muscle exhibits autonomous oscillations called SPOC, in which the basic contractile units, sarcomeres, oscillate in length, and various oscillatory patterns such as traveling waves and their disrupted forms appear in a myofibril. Here we show that these patterns are reproduced by mechanically connecting in series the unit model that explains characteristics of SPOC at the single-sarcomere level. We further reduce the connected model to phase equations, revealing that the combination of local and global couplings is crucial to the emergence of these patterns.

Phase synchronization between collective rhythms of globally coupled oscillator groups: noisy identical case.

We theoretically investigate the collective phase synchronization between interacting groups of globally coupled noisy identical phase oscillators exhibiting macroscopic rhythms. Using the phase reduction method, we derive coupled collective phase equations describing the macroscopic rhythms of the groups from microscopic Langevin phase equations of the individual oscillators via nonlinear Fokker-Planck equations. For sinusoidal microscopic coupling, we determine the type of the collective phase coupling function, i.e., whether the groups exhibit in-phase or antiphase synchronization. We show that the macroscopic rhythms can exhibit effective antiphase synchronization even if the microscopic phase coupling between the groups is in-phase, and vice versa. Moreover, near the onset of collective oscillations, we analytically obtain the collective phase coupling function using center-manifold and phase reductions of the nonlinear Fokker-Planck equations.

Phase synchronization between collective rhythms of globally coupled oscillator groups: noiseless nonidentical case.

We theoretically study the synchronization between collective oscillations exhibited by two weakly interacting groups of nonidentical phase oscillators with internal and external global sinusoidal couplings of the groups. Coupled amplitude equations describing the collective oscillations of the oscillator groups are obtained by using the Ott-Antonsen ansatz, and then coupled phase equations for the collective oscillations are derived by phase reduction of the amplitude equations. The collective phase coupling function, which determines the dynamics of macroscopic phase differences between the groups, is calculated analytically. We demonstrate that the groups can exhibit effective antiphase collective synchronization even if the microscopic external coupling between individual oscillator pairs belonging to different groups is in-phase, and similarly effective in-phase collective synchronization in spite of microscopic antiphase external coupling between the groups.

Effective long-time phase dynamics of limit-cycle oscillators driven by weak colored noise.

An effective white-noise Langevin equation is derived that describes long-time phase dynamics of a limit-cycle oscillator driven by weak stationary colored noise. Effective drift and diffusion coefficients are given in terms of the phase sensitivity of the oscillator and the correlation function of the noise, and are explicitly calculated for oscillators with sinusoidal phase sensitivity functions driven by two typical colored Gaussian processes. The results are verified by numerical simulations using several types of stochastic or chaotic noise. The drift and diffusion coefficients of oscillators driven by chaotic noise exhibit anomalous dependence on the oscillator frequency, reflecting the peculiar power spectrum of the chaotic noise.

Self-organized pacemakers and bistability of pulses in an excitable medium.

Pattern formation in an excitable medium described by a three-component reaction-diffusion system is investigated. Our focus is on stable self-organized pacemakers which give rise to spatially extended target patterns. Bistability of pulse solutions in the excitable regime is also reported, and interactions of the different pulses with each other and the pacemaker are studied. Self-organized pacemakers are created by a suitable perturbation from the steady state or through interaction of pulses. Bound states of one-dimensional pacemakers and phase flips are also observed.

Noise-induced turbulence in nonlocally coupled oscillators.

We demonstrate that nonlocally coupled limit-cycle oscillators subject to spatiotemporally white Gaussian noise can exhibit a noise-induced transition to turbulent states. After illustrating noise-induced turbulent states with numerical simulations using two representative models of limit-cycle oscillators, we develop a theory that clarifies the effective dynamical instabilities leading to the turbulent behavior using a hierarchy of dynamical reduction methods. We determine the parameter region where the system can exhibit noise-induced turbulent states, which is successfully confirmed by extensive numerical simulations at each level of the reduction.

Synchrony of limit-cycle oscillators induced by random external impulses.

The mechanism of phase synchronization between uncoupled limit-cycle oscillators induced by common random impulsive forcing is analyzed. By reducing the dynamics of the oscillator to a random phase map, it is shown that phase synchronization generally occurs when the oscillator is driven by weak random impulsive forcing in the limit of large interimpulse intervals. The case where the interimpulse intervals are finite is also analyzed perturbatively for small impulse intensity. For weak Poisson impulses, it is shown that the phase synchronization persists up to the first order approximation.

Onset of collective oscillation in chemical turbulence under global feedback.

Preceding the complete suppression of chemical turbulence by means of global feedback, a different universal type of transition, which is characterized by the emergence of small-amplitude collective oscillation with strong turbulent background, is shown to occur at much weaker feedback intensity. We illustrate this fact numerically in combination with a phenomenological argument based on the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation with global feedback.

Complex Ginzburg-Landau equation with nonlocal coupling.

A Ginzburg-Landau-type equation with nonlocal coupling is derived systematically as a reduced form of a universal class of reaction-diffusion systems near the Hopf bifurcation point and in the presence of another small parameter. The reaction-diffusion systems to be reduced are such that the chemical components constituting local oscillators are nondiffusive or hardly diffusive, so that the oscillators are almost uncoupled, while there is an extra diffusive component which introduces effective nonlocal coupling over the oscillators. Linear stability analysis of the reduced equation about the uniform oscillation is also carried out. This revealed that new types of instability which can never arise in the ordinary complex Ginzburg-Landau equation are possible, and their physical implication is briefly discussed.

Rotating spiral waves with phase-randomized core in nonlocally coupled oscillators.

Rotating spiral waves with a central core composed of phase-randomized oscillators can arise in reaction-diffusion systems if some of the chemical components involved are diffusion-free. This peculiar phenomenon is demonstrated for a paradigmatic three-component reaction-diffusion model. The origin of this anomalous spiral dynamics is the effective nonlocality in coupling, whose effect is stronger for weaker coupling. There exists a critical coupling strength which is estimated from a simple argument. Detailed mathematical and numerical analyses are carried out in the extreme case of weak coupling for which the phase reduction method is applicable. Under the assumption that the mean-field pattern keeps rotating steadily as a result of a statistical cancellation of the incoherence, we derive a functional self-consistency equation to be satisfied by this space-time dependent quantity. Its solution and the resulting effective frequencies of the individual oscillators are found to agree excellently with the numerical simulation.

Clustering in globally coupled oscillators near a Hopf bifurcation: theory and experiments.

A theoretical analysis is presented to show the general occurrence of phase clusters in weakly, globally coupled oscillators close to a Hopf bifurcation. Through a reductive perturbation method, we derive the amplitude equation with a higher-order correction term valid near a Hopf bifurcation point. This amplitude equation allows us to calculate analytically the phase coupling function from given limit-cycle oscillator models. Moreover, using the phase coupling function, the stability of phase clusters can be analyzed. We demonstrate our theory with the Brusselator model. Experiments are carried out to confirm the presence of phase clusters close to Hopf bifurcations with electrochemical oscillators.

Collective phase description of globally coupled excitable elements.

We develop a theory of collective phase description for globally coupled noisy excitable elements exhibiting macroscopic oscillations. Collective phase equations describing macroscopic rhythms of the system are derived from Langevin-type equations of globally coupled active rotators via a nonlinear Fokker-Planck equation. The theory is an extension of the conventional phase reduction method for ordinary limit cycles to limit-cycle solutions in infinite-dimensional dynamical systems, such as the time-periodic solutions to nonlinear Fokker-Planck equations representing macroscopic rhythms. We demonstrate that the type of the collective phase sensitivity function near the onset of collective oscillations crucially depends on the type of the bifurcation, namely, it is type I for the saddle-node bifurcation and type II for the Hopf bifurcation.

Robust network clocks: design of genetic oscillators as a complex combinatorial optimization problem.

Complex combinatorial optimization can be used to design network systems having desired dynamics and that are robust against structural perturbations. Here genetic networks exhibiting limit-cycle oscillations with prescribed periods and, furthermore, that are robust against the deletion of links and nodes or the application of noise are constructed. Large ensembles of robust genetic clocks with different periods could thus be obtained, and some of their statistical properties have been investigated. Similar methods can be used to design robust network oscillators of various origins.

Collective-phase description of coupled oscillators with general network structure.

We develop a collective-phase description for a population of nonidentical limit-cycle oscillators with any network structure undergoing fully phase-locked collective oscillations. The whole network dynamics can be described by a single collective-phase variable. We derive a general formula for the collective-phase sensitivity, which quantifies the phase response of the whole network to weak external perturbations applied to the constituent oscillators. Moreover, we consider weakly interacting multiple networks and develop an effective phase coupling description for them. Several examples are given to illustrate our theory.

Amoebae anticipate periodic events.

When plasmodia of the true slime mold Physarum were exposed to unfavorable conditions presented as three consecutive pulses at constant intervals, they reduced their locomotive speed in response to each episode. When the plasmodia were subsequently subjected to favorable conditions, they spontaneously reduced their locomotive speed at the time when the next unfavorable episode would have occurred. This implied the anticipation of impending environmental change. We explored the mechanisms underlying these types of behavior from a dynamical systems perspective.

Collective phase sensitivity.

The collective phase response to a macroscopic external perturbation of a population of interacting nonlinear elements exhibiting collective oscillations is formulated for the case of globally coupled oscillators. The macroscopic phase sensitivity is derived from the microscopic phase sensitivity of the constituent oscillators by a two-step phase reduction. We apply this result to quantify the stability of the macroscopic common-noise-induced synchronization of two uncoupled populations of oscillators undergoing coherent collective oscillations.