Chimera-like states in an ensemble of globally coupled oscillators

Abstract

We demonstrate emergence of a complex state in a homogeneous ensemble of globally coupled identical oscillators, reminiscent of chimera states in locally coupled oscillator lattices. In this regime some part of the ensemble forms a regularly evolving cluster, while all other units irregularly oscillate and remain asynchronous. We argue that chimera emerges because of effective bistability which dynamically appears in the originally monostable system due to internal delayed feedback in individual units. Additionally, we present two examples of chimeras in bistable systems with frequency-dependent phase shift in the global coupling.