Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 214101 (2008) [4 pages]Clusters and Switchers in Globally Coupled Photochemical OscillatorsReceived 18 January 2008; published 30 May 2008 We experimentally investigate the transition to synchronization in a population of photochemical oscillators with weak global coupling. Above a critical coupling strength the oscillators join a one-phase group or two-phase clusters. The number of oscillators in each cluster depends on the initial phase distribution, and irregular switching of oscillators between clusters is observed. The fully synchronized state emerges above a second critical coupling strength. In agreement with earlier theory, the experiments demonstrate the importance of population heterogeneity in cluster multistability. © 2008 The American Physical Society URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.214101
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.214101
PACS:
05.45.Xt
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