Kuramoto model 2026-10-31
The Kuramoto model couples phase oscillators by sine differences. With all-to-all coupling, , where is the Kuramoto order parameter. Natural-frequency diversity competes with coupling-induced phase coherence. In the symmetric stationary continuum branch, oscillators with lock to the mean phase and the remainder drift.
For uniform nearest-neighbor bonds of strength on a ring with , retain the normalization of the given model:
with indices interpreted modulo . On an open chain the interior equations are the same, while
For nonuniform bonds, replace each by the corresponding . A convention without the factor is obtained by rescaling the bond strengths; it is not silently substituted here.
For all-to-all coupling define the Kuramoto order parameter
It is the centroid of unit phase vectors: measures phase coherence and the mean phase. Multiplying by and taking imaginary parts gives
Thus only the two components of the Kuramoto order parameter mediate interaction.
For the symmetric stationary continuum branch, choose the rotating frame with . Oscillators with lock at , choosing for stability. Those with drift, with stationary phase density proportional to . Their real contribution to the order parameter vanishes, since the integral of over a period is the change of a periodic logarithm. Their imaginary contributions cancel between and because is symmetric.
The locked oscillators therefore give the real self-consistency relation
Set and divide by to obtain
This is the Kuramoto self-consistency equation for partial synchronization. The incoherent state must be considered before this division. If is continuous at zero with , the branch meets incoherence at .