Alternate attractor chimeralike states on rings of chaotic Lorenz-type oscillators

Abstract

An interesting alternate attractor chimeralike state can self-organize to emerge on rings of chaotic Lorenz-type oscillators. The local dynamics of any two neighboring oscillators can spontaneously change from the chaotic butterfly-like attractors to the two symmetric and converse ones, which forms alternate attractors on the ring. This is distinctly different from the traditional chimera states with unique local attractor. An effective driven-oscillator approach is proposed to reveal the mechanism in forming this new oscillation mode and predict the critical coupling strengths for the emergence of the new oscillation mode. The existence of a pair of converse focus solutions with respect to the external drive is found to be the key factor responsible for the alternate attractor chimeralike state. The linear feedback control scheme is introduced to control the suppression and reproduction of alternate attractor chimeralike state. These findings may shed light on a new perspective of the studies and applications of chimera dynamics in complex systems.