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Spike synchronization of chaotic oscillators as a phase transition
M Ciszak1, A Montina, F T Arecchi
1C.N.R.-Istituto Nazionale di Ottica Applicata, L.go E. Fermi 6, 50125, Florence, Italy. marzena.ciszak@inoa.it
Cognitive Processing
|October 22, 2008
Summary
We found that coupled chaotic systems synchronize rapidly to external driving, with defects disappearing at a critical coupling strength. This array exhibits excitable-like behavior, even though individual elements do not.
Area of Science:
- Complex systems
- Nonlinear dynamics
- Spiking neural systems
Background:
- Spiking chaotic systems exhibit complex dynamics.
- Synchronization in coupled systems is crucial for information processing.
- Defects represent local desynchronization in coupled arrays.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the synchronization of a locally coupled array of spiking chaotic systems to external driving.
- Analyze the phenomenon of defect disappearance and its relation to phase transitions.
- Determine if the array exhibits excitable-like behavior.
Main Methods:
- Simulations of a locally coupled array of spiking chaotic systems.
- Analysis of synchronization properties and inter-spike intervals.
- Study of defect dynamics as a function of coupling strength and external driving amplitude.
Main Results:
- Rapid synchronization of the array to external driving was observed.
- A critical coupling strength was identified, leading to spontaneous defect disappearance, indicating a phase transition.
- Below critical coupling, the system exhibited order with a definite external input amplitude, persisting for a fixed time slot.
Conclusions:
- The array demonstrates a phase transition characterized by defect disappearance.
- The coupled system behaves as an excitable-like system, a property absent in individual elements.
- External driving can induce synchronized, order-preserving behavior in chaotic arrays.
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