SPATIOTEMPORAL DYNAMICS OF AN INTRINSICALLY CHAOTIC FIELD

In contrast to earlier nonlinear-dynamics investigations concerning th e consequences of coupling limit-cycle oscillators, we propose the con ceptionally simple extension of studying the interaction dynamics of c haotic subsystems. We illustrate this by simulating a ''toy system,'' the dynamics of a linear chain of damped-driven pendulums where the st ate of the isolated individual pendulum is chaotic. The harmonic coupl ing between these chaotic oscillators results in a very complex and ri ch spatiotemporal dynamics as a function of coupling strength and syst em size. This suggests that the extension to realistic representations of physical systems may provide a fruitful paradigm for studying dyna mical disorder in the real world.