Non-identical multiplexing promotes chimera states

Abstract

We present the emergence of chimeras, a state referring to coexistence of partly coherent, partly incoherent dynamics in networks of identical oscillators, in a multiplex network consisting of two non-identical layers which are interconnected. We demonstrate that the parameter range displaying the chimera state in the homogeneous first layer of the multiplex networks can be tuned by changing the link density or connection architecture of the same nodes in the second layer. We focus on the impact of the interconnected second layer on the enlargement or shrinking of the coupling regime for which chimeras are displayed in the homogeneous first layer. We find that a denser homogeneous second layer promotes chimera in a sparse first layer, where chimeras do not occur in isolation. Furthermore, while a dense connection density is required for the second layer if it is homogeneous, this is not true if the second layer is inhomogeneous. We demonstrate that a sparse inhomogeneous second layer which is common in real-world complex systems can promote chimera states in a sparse homogeneous first layer.