37E05 Maps of the interval (piecewise continuous, continuous, smooth)
For a system of globally pulse-coupled phase-oscillators,
we derive conditions for stability of the completely synchronous
state and all possible two-cluster states and explain
how the different states are naturally connected via
bifurcations. The coupling is modeled using the phaseresponse-
curve (PRC), which measures the sensitivity of
each oscillator’s phase to perturbations. For large systems
with a PRC, which turns to zero at the spiking threshold,
we are able to find the parameter regions where multiple
stable two-cluster states coexist and illustrate this by an
example. In addition, we explain how a locally unstable
one-cluster state may form an attractor together will its
homoclinic connections. This leads to the phenomenon
of intermittent, asymptotic synchronization with abating
beats away from the perfect synchrony.