We analyze the dynamics of a periodically forced oscillator ensemble with global nonlinear coupling. Without forcing, the system exhibits complicated collective dynamics, even for the simplest case of identical phase oscillators: due to nonlinearity, the synchronous state becomes unstable for certain values of the coupling parameter, and the system settles at the border between synchrony and asynchrony, what can be denoted as partial synchrony. We find that an external common forcing can result in two synchronous states: (i) a weak forcing entrains only the mean field, whereas the individual oscillators remain unlocked to the force and, correspondingly, to the mean field; (ii) a strong forcing fully synchronizes the system, making the phases of all oscillators identical. Analytical results are confirmed by numerics.

We consider large populations of phase oscillators with global nonlinear coupling. For identical oscillators such populations are known to demonstrate a transition from completely synchronized state to the state of self-organized quasiperiodicity. In this state phases of all units differ, yet the population is not completely incoherent but produces a nonzero mean field; the frequency of the latter differs from the frequency of individual units. Here we analyze the dynamics of such populations in case of uniformly distributed natural frequencies. We demonstrate numerically and describe theoretically (i) states of complete synchrony, (ii) regimes with coexistence of a synchronous cluster and a drifting subpopulation, and (iii) self-organized quasiperiodic states with nonzero mean field and all oscillators drifting with respect to it. We analyze transitions between different states with the increase of the coupling strength; in particular we show that the mean field arises via a discontinuous transition. For a further illustration we compare the results for the nonlinear model with those for the Kuramoto-Sakaguchi model.

We present a toy-model for an ensemble of adhering mesoscopic constituents in order to estimate the effect of the granular temperature on the sizes of embedded aggregates. The major goal is to illustrate the relation between the mean aggregate size and the granular temperature in dense planetary rings. For sake of simplicity we describe the collective behavior of the ensemble by means of equilibrium statistical mechanics, motivated by the stationary temperature established by the balance between a Kepler-shear driven viscous heating and inelastic cooling in these cosmic granular disks. The ensemble consists of N equal constituents which can form cluster(s) or move like a gas-or both phases may coexist-depending on the (granular) temperature of the system. We assume the binding energy levels of a cluster E c = −N c γ a to be determined by a certain contact number N c , given by the configuration of N constituents of the aggregate (energy per contact: −γ a). By applying canonical and grand-canonical ensembles, we show that the granular temperature T of a gas of constituents (their mean kinetic energy) controls the size distribution of the aggregates. They are the smaller the higher the granular temperature T is. A mere gas of single constituents is sustained for T γ a. In the case of large clusters (low temperatures T γ a) the size distribution becomes a Poissonian.