Variety of rotation modes in a small chain of coupled pendulums

This article studies the rotational dynamics of three identical coupled pendulums. There exist two parameter areas where the in-phase rotational motion is unstable and out-of-phase rotations are realized. Asymptotic theory is developed that allows us to analytically identify borders of instability areas of in-phase rotation motion. It is shown that out-of-phase rotations are the result of the parametric instability of in-phase motion. Complex out-of-phase rotations are numerically found and their stability and bifurcations are defined. It is demonstrated that the emergence of chaotic dynamics happens due to the period doubling bifurcation cascade. The detailed scenario of symmetry breaking is presented. The development of chaotic dynamics leads to the origin of two chaotic attractors of different types. The first one is characterized by the different phases of all pendulums. In the second case, the phases of the two pendulums are equal, and the phase of the third one is different. This regime can be interpreted as a drum-head mode in star-networks. It may also indicate the occurrence of chimera states in chains with a greater number of nearest-neighbour interacting elements and in analogical systems with global coupling.