Exact results for the Kuramoto model with a bimodal frequency distribution

E. A. Martens, E. Barreto, S. H. Strogatz, E. Ott, P. So, and T. M. Antonsen
Phys. Rev. E 79, 026204 – Published 6 February 2009

Abstract

We analyze a large system of globally coupled phase oscillators whose natural frequencies are bimodally distributed. The dynamics of this system has been the subject of long-standing interest. In 1984 Kuramoto proposed several conjectures about its behavior; ten years later, Crawford obtained the first analytical results by means of a local center manifold calculation. Nevertheless, many questions have remained open, especially about the possibility of global bifurcations. Here we derive the system’s stability diagram for the special case where the bimodal distribution consists of two equally weighted Lorentzians. Using an ansatz recently discovered by Ott and Antonsen, we show that in this case the infinite-dimensional problem reduces exactly to a flow in four dimensions. Depending on the parameters and initial conditions, the long-term dynamics evolves to one of three states: incoherence, where all the oscillators are desynchronized; partial synchrony, where a macroscopic group of phase-locked oscillators coexists with a sea of desynchronized ones; and a standing wave state, where two counter-rotating groups of phase-locked oscillators emerge. Analytical results are presented for the bifurcation boundaries between these states. Similar results are also obtained for the case in which the bimodal distribution is given by the sum of two Gaussians.

    • Received 7 September 2008

    DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.79.026204

    ©2009 American Physical Society

    Authors & Affiliations

    E. A. Martens1, E. Barreto2, S. H. Strogatz1, E. Ott3, P. So2, and T. M. Antonsen3

    • 1Department of Theoretical & Applied Mechanics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
    • 2Department of Physics & Astronomy, The Center for Neural Dynamics and the Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia 22030, USA
    • 3Institute for Research in Electronics and Applied Physics, Department of Physics, and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA

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    Issue

    Vol. 79, Iss. 2 — February 2009

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