Recurrence quantification analysis for the identification of burst phase synchronisation.

In this work, we apply the spatial recurrence quantification analysis (RQA) to identify chaotic burst phase synchronisation in networks. We consider one neural network with small-world topology and another one composed of small-world subnetworks. The neuron dynamics is described by the Rulkov map, which is a two-dimensional map that has been used to model chaotic bursting neurons. We show that with the use of spatial RQA, it is possible to identify groups of synchronised neurons and determine their size. For the single network, we obtain an analytical expression for the spatial recurrence rate using a Gaussian approximation. In clustered networks, the spatial RQA allows the identification of phase synchronisation among neurons within and between the subnetworks. Our results imply that RQA can serve as a useful tool for studying phase synchronisation even in networks of networks.

Bound Pulse Trains in Arrays of Coupled Spatially Extended Dynamical Systems.

We study the dynamics of an array of nearest-neighbor coupled spatially distributed systems each generating a periodic sequence of short pulses. We demonstrate that, unlike a solitary system generating a train of equidistant pulses, an array of such systems can produce a sequence of clusters of closely packed pulses, with the distance between individual pulses depending on the coupling phase. This regime associated with the formation of locally coupled pulse trains bounded due to a balance of attraction and repulsion between them is different from the pulse bound states reported earlier in different laser, plasma, chemical, and biological systems. We propose a simplified analytical description of the observed phenomenon, which is in good agreement with the results of direct numerical simulations of a model system describing an array of coupled mode-locked lasers.

Amplitude equations for collective spatio-temporal dynamics in arrays of coupled systems.

We study the coupling induced destabilization in an array of identical oscillators coupled in a ring structure where the number of oscillators in the ring is large. The coupling structure includes different types of interactions with several next neighbors. We derive an amplitude equation of Ginzburg-Landau type, which describes the destabilization of a uniform stationary state and close-by solutions in the limit of a large number of nodes. Studying numerically an example of unidirectionally coupled Duffing oscillators, we observe a coupling induced transition to collective spatio-temporal chaos, which can be understood using the derived amplitude equations.

Spectral properties of chimera states.

Chimera states are particular trajectories in systems of phase oscillators with nonlocal coupling that display a spatiotemporal pattern of coherent and incoherent motion. We present here a detailed analysis of the spectral properties for such trajectories. First, we study numerically their Lyapunov spectrum and its behavior for an increasing number of oscillators. The spectra demonstrate the hyperchaotic nature of the chimera states and show a correspondence of the Lyapunov dimension with the number of incoherent oscillators. Then, we pass to the thermodynamic limit equation and present an analytic approach to the spectrum of a corresponding linearized evolution operator. We show that, in this setting, the chimera state is neutrally stable and that the continuous spectrum coincides with the limit of the hyperchaotic Lyapunov spectrum obtained for the finite size systems.

Synchronizing distant nodes: a universal classification of networks.

Stability of synchronization in delay-coupled networks of identical units generally depends in a complicated way on the coupling topology. We show that for large coupling delays synchronizability relates in a simple way to the spectral properties of the network topology. The master stability function used to determine the stability of synchronous solutions has a universal structure in the limit of large delay: It is rotationally symmetric around the origin and increases monotonically with the radius in the complex plane. This allows a universal classification of networks with respect to their synchronization properties and solves the problem of complete synchronization in networks with strongly delayed coupling.

Routes to complex dynamics in a ring of unidirectionally coupled systems.

We study the dynamics of a ring of unidirectionally coupled autonomous Duffing oscillators. Starting from a situation where the individual oscillator without coupling has only trivial equilibrium dynamics, the coupling induces complicated transitions to periodic, quasiperiodic, chaotic, and hyperchaotic behavior. We study these transitions in detail for small and large numbers of oscillators. Particular attention is paid to the role of unstable periodic solutions for the appearance of chaotic rotating waves, spatiotemporal structures, and the Eckhaus effect for a large number of oscillators. Our analytical and numerical results are confirmed by a simple experiment based on the electronic implementation of coupled Duffing oscillators.

Delay and periodicity.

Systems with time delay play an important role in modeling of many physical and biological processes. In this paper we describe generic properties of systems with time delay, which are related to the appearance and stability of periodic solutions. In particular, we show that delay systems generically have families of periodic solutions, which are reappearing for infinitely many delay times. As delay increases, the solution families overlap leading to increasing coexistence of multiple stable as well as unstable solutions. We also consider stability issue of periodic solutions with large delay by explaining asymptotic properties of the spectrum of characteristic multipliers. We show that the spectrum of multipliers can be split into two parts: pseudocontinuous and strongly unstable. The pseudocontinuous part of the spectrum mediates destabilization of periodic solutions.

Delay stabilization of rotating waves near fold bifurcation and application to all-optical control of a semiconductor laser.

We consider the delayed feedback control method for stabilization of unstable rotating waves near a fold bifurcation. Theoretical analysis of a generic model and numerical bifurcation analysis of the rate-equations model demonstrate that such orbits can always be stabilized by a proper choice of control parameters. Our paper confirms the recently discovered invalidity of the so-called "odd-number limitation" of delayed feedback control. Previous results have been restricted to the vicinity of a subcritical Hopf bifurcation. We now refute such a limitation for rotating waves near a fold bifurcation. We include an application to all-optical realization of the control in three-section semiconductor lasers.

Self-organized emergence of multilayer structure and chimera states in dynamical networks with adaptive couplings.

We report the phenomenon of self-organized emergence of hierarchical multilayered structures and chimera states in dynamical networks with adaptive couplings. This process is characterized by a sequential formation of subnetworks (layers) of densely coupled elements, the size of which is ordered in a hierarchical way, and which are weakly coupled between each other. We show that the hierarchical structure causes the decoupling of the subnetworks. Each layer can exhibit either a two-cluster state, a periodic traveling wave, or an incoherent state, and these states can coexist on different scales of subnetwork sizes.

Symmetry-increasing bifurcation as a predictor of a chaos-hyperchaos transition in coupled systems.

In weakly coupled systems, it is possible to observe the coexistence of the chaotic attractors which are located out of the invariant manifold and are not symmetrical in relation to this manifold. When the control parameter is changed, these attractors can undergo a chaos-hyperchaos transition. We give numerical evidence that before this transition the coexisting attractors merge together creating an attractor symmetrical with respect to the invariant manifold. We argue that the attractors that are not located at the invariant manifold can exhibit dynamical behavior similar to bubbling and on-off intermittency previously observed for the attractors located at the invariant manifold, and we describe the mechanism of these phenomena.

Bifurcation structure of a model of bursting pancreatic cells.

One- and two-dimensional bifurcation studies of a prototypic model of bursting oscillations in pancreatic beta-cells reveal a squid-formed area of chaotic dynamics in the parameter plane, with period-doubling bifurcations on one side of the arms and saddle-node bifurcations on the other. The transition from this structure to the so-called period-adding structure is found to involve a subcritical period-doubling bifurcation and the emergence of type-III intermittency. The period-adding transition itself is not smooth but consists of a saddle-node bifurcation in which (n+1)-spike bursting behavior is born, slightly overlapping with a subcritical period-doubling bifurcation in which n-spike bursting behavior loses its stability.

Stationary patterns of coherence and incoherence in two-dimensional arrays of non-locally-coupled phase oscillators.

Recently, it has been shown that large arrays of identical oscillators with nonlocal coupling can have a remarkable type of solutions that display a stationary macroscopic pattern of coexisting regions with coherent and incoherent motions, often called chimera states. Here, we present a detailed numerical study of the appearance of such solutions in two-dimensional arrays of coupled phase oscillators. We discover a variety of stationary patterns, including circular spots, stripe patterns, and patterns of multiple spirals. Here, stationarity means that, for increasing system size, the locally averaged phase distributions tend to the stationary profile given by the corresponding thermodynamic limit equation.

Periodic patterns in a ring of delay-coupled oscillators.

We describe the appearance and stability of spatiotemporal periodic patterns (rotating waves) in unidirectional rings of coupled oscillators with delayed couplings. We show how delays in the coupling lead to the splitting of each rotating wave into several new ones. The appearance of rotating waves is mediated by the Hopf bifurcations of the symmetric equilibrium. We also conclude that the coupling delays can be effectively replaced by increasing the number of oscillators in the chain. The phenomena are shown for the Stuart-Landau oscillators as well as for the coupled FitzHugh-Nagumo systems modeling an ensemble of spiking neurons interacting via excitatory chemical synapses.