Lyapunov exponents of a lattice of chaotic maps with a power-law coupling

We consider a lattice of coupled chaotic logistic maps in which the couplin g strength between sites decreases with the lattice distance in a power-law fashion, making possible to pass continuously from a local to a global cou pling. The corresponding Lyapunov spectra are described by means of the max imal exponent and the average of the positive exponents, which are analyzed in terms of the coupling properties. Our results are compared with spatio- temporal patterns known for global and local couplings. (C) 2001 Elsevier S cience B.V. All rights reserved.