Hyperbolicity impedes emergence of chimera states in networks of nonlocally coupled chaotic oscillators

Abstract: We analyze nonlocally coupled networks of identical chaotic oscillators with either time-discrete or time-continuous dynamics (Henon map, Lozi map, Lorenz system). We hypothesize that chimera states, in which spatial domains of coherent (synchronous) and incoherent (desynchronized) dynamics coexist, can be obtained only in networks of nonhyperbolic chaotic systems and cannot be found in networks of hyperbolic systems. This hypothesis is supported by analytical results and numerical simulations for hyperbolic and nonhyperbolic cases.