Generalized coupling in the Kuramoto model

Abstract

We propose a modification of the Kuramoto model to account for the effective change in the coupling constant among the oscillators, as suggested by some experiments on Josephson junction, laser arrays and mechanical systems, where the active elements are turned on one by one. The resulting model is analytically tractable and predicts that both first and second order phase transitions are possible, depending upon the value of a new parameter that tunes the coupling among the oscillators. Numerical simulations of the model are in accordance with the analytical estimates, and in qualitative agreement with the behavior of Josephson junctions coupled via a cavity.