Experimental observation of chimera states in spiking neural networks based on degenerate optical parametric oscillators

• Published in: Communications physics Vol. 6; no. 1; pp. 121 - 8
• Main Authors: Makinwa, Tumi, Inaba, Kensuke, Inagaki, Takahiro, Yamada, Yasuhiro, Leleu, Timothée, Honjo, Toshimori, Ikuta, Takuya, Enbutsu, Koji, Umeki, Takeshi, Kasahara, Ryoichi, Aihara, Kazuyuki, Takesue, Hiroki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 27.05.2023; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 639/624/1075; 639/766/530/2803; Dynamical systems; Neural networks; Neurons; Nonlinear dynamics; Nonlinear systems; Optical communication; Optical Parametric Oscillators; Parametric amplifiers; Photonics; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Spiking; Synchronism
• ISSN: 2399-3650; 2399-3650
• DOI: 10.1038/s42005-023-01240-x

The phenomenon of partial synchronization has attracted significant interest in the field of nonlinear dynamics, largely due to observations of related phenomena in real-world situations. In particular, the coexistence of synchronized and desynchronized phases, known as a chimera state, has been the subject of intense study. In this work, we experimentally demonstrate that networks of identical photonic spiking neurons based on coupled degenerate optical parametric oscillators can exhibit various chimera states in which, depending on their local synchronization and desynchronization, different kinds of spiking dynamics can develop in a self-organized manner. Even when only a static interaction is implemented, the spiking mode of photonic neurons can be spontaneously and adaptively changed between the Class-I and Class-II modes classified by A. L. Hodgkin. This spontaneous spiking-mode shift induces a significant change in the spiking frequency despite all neurons having the same natural spiking frequency, which encourages the generation of chimera states. Chimera states of coupled oscillators have been the subject of considerable interest in complex nonlinear systems. The authors experimentally observe chimera states in a photonic spiking neural network of identical neurons with homogeneous interactions, suggesting that the system with high controllability provides a novel platform to researching synchronous phenomena.