Phase oscillators are dissipative dynamic systems with external energy input, and mathematically characterized by the presence of limit cycles, along which the dynamics can be described by a phase angle. In the present article, we consider synchronization phenomena in a system of many phase-coupled oscillators. We adopt a qualitative description, based on a paradigmatic model proposed by Y. Kuramoto in 1975. We discuss, in the light of this description, some applications in physical systems (metronomes and pedestrians on a suspension bridge) and biological (neurons and fireflies blinking).
Keywords
Kuramoto; oscillators; synchronization; phase