Cluster Synchronization in Multilayer Networks: A Fully Analog Experiment with LC Oscillators with Physically Dissimilar Coupling

Phys Rev Lett. 2019 Jan 11;122(1):014101. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.122.014101.

Abstract

We investigate cluster synchronization in experiments with a multilayer network of electronic Colpitts oscillators, specifically a network with two interaction layers. We observe and analytically characterize the appearance of several cluster states as we change coupling in the layers. In this study, we innovatively combine bifurcation analysis and the computation of transverse Lyapunov exponents. We observe four kinds of synchronized states, from fully synchronous to a clustered quasiperiodic state-the first experimental observation of the latter state. Our work is the first to study fundamentally dissimilar kinds of coupling within an experimental multilayer network.