Chimera states for directed networks

Abstract

We demonstrate that chimera behavior can be observed in ensembles of phase oscillators with unidirectional coupling. For a small network consisting of only three identical oscillators (cyclic triple), tiny chimera islands arise in the parameter space. They are surrounded by developed chaotic switching behavior caused by a collision of rotating waves propagating in opposite directions. For larger networks, as we show for a hundred oscillators (cyclic century), the islands merge into a single chimera continent, which incorporates the world of chimeras of different configurations. The phenomenon inherits from networks with intermediate ranges of the unidirectional coupling and it diminishes as the coupling range decreases.