Coupled map lattices (CMLs) are prototypical dynamical systems on networks/graphs. They exhibit complex patterns generated via the interplay of diffusive/Laplacian coupling and nonlinear reactions modelled by a single iterated map at each node; the maps are often taken as unimodal, e.g., logistic or tent maps.

In this letter, we propose a class of higher-order coupled dynamical systems involving the hypergraph Laplacian, which we call coupled hypergraph maps (CHMs). By combining linearized (in-)stability analysis of synchronized states, hypergraph spectral theory, and numerical methods, we detect robust regions of chaotic cluster synchronization occurring in parameter space upon varying coupling strength and the main bifurcation parameter of the unimodal map. Furthermore, we find key differences between Laplacian and hypergraph Laplacian coupling and detect various other classes of periodic and quasi-periodic patterns.

The results show the high complexity of coupled graph maps and indicate that they might be an excellent universal model class to understand the similarities and differences between dynamics on classical graphs and dynamics on hypergraphs.

T. Böhle, C. Kühn, R. Mulas, J. Jost, Coupled hypergraph maps and chaotic cluster synchronization, Europhysics Letters 136 (4) (2022)