Competition of synchronization domains in arrays of chaotic homoclinic systems

Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys. 2003 Dec;68(6 Pt 2):066209. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.68.066209. Epub 2003 Dec 24.

Abstract

We investigate the response of an open chain of bidirectionally coupled chaotic homoclinic systems to external periodic stimuli. When one end of the chain is driven by a periodic signal, the system propagates a phase synchronization state in a certain range of coupling strengths and external frequencies. When two simultaneous forcings are applied at different points of the array, a rich phenomenology of stable competitive states is observed, including temporal alternation and spatial coexistence of synchronization domains.