Hidden symmetry and Collective behavior

Abstract

We study the relationship between the partially synchronous state and the coupling structure in general dynamical systems. Our results show that, on the contrary to the widely accepted concept, topological symmetry in a coupling structure is the sufficient condition but not the necessary condition. Furthermore, we find the necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of the partial synchronization and develop a method to obtain all of the existing partially synchronous solutions for all nonspecific dynamics from a very large number of possible candidates.